The Rocky Mountain Saints/Chapter 11

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The Rocky Mountain Saints
by T. B. H. Stenhouse

Chapter XI

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2226149The Rocky Mountain Saints — Chapter XIT. B. H. Stenhouse

CHAPTER XI.

FIRST GREAT APOSTACY.—Joseph predicts that Brigham will be President of the Church—British Missions projected as a Strategic Measure—One of Joseph's own Counsellors rebels against him—He is proclaimed "a Fallen Prophet"—Troubles again threaten in Missouri.

A critical period in the existence of the Church was now reached. The endowments had been given and the Temple had been dedicated, yet there was dissatisfaction among the disciples. Their anticipations had not been realized. The spirit of apostacy was abroad. But it was not the faith that so much tried the people as it was Joseph's life. Everyone had his own ideas of what a prophet should be. He was now greatly changed. The humble plough-boy had merged in the Prophet-ruler. The men who had devoted to him their best abilities in the beginning, and had contributed to shape the crude elements of his supernatural creations into form, thought that they had a right to some part in "the kingdom." Joseph saw in them only instruments subordinate to his own success—he was to be the head and front of everything. It was difficult for free-born Americans cradled in democracy to comprehend at once Joseph's theocracy. It takes time for men to strangle their truest instincts. Joseph had none of that experience himself, and he could not appreciate the cost of it in others. All the manliness of his ambitious nature found ample scope in working out what he believed to be his divine mission, and in announcements of faith. Nominally, he accorded the same privileges to his brethren, but practically, it was the very opposite. It was for him to speak; it was for them to obey. He was "the Lord's servant," and they had no right to criticise him. If he erred, "the Lord" could correct him. The man who dared to suggest was as impious as lie who in the ancient Israelitish story stretched forth his hand to steady the tottering ark, and deserved the same punishment—the judgment of Heaven.

It is asserted that when Joseph first saw Brigham Young he prophesied that "the time would come when Brother Brigham should preside over the Church."^[1] With such a prediction ringing in his ears, it is not difficult to trace Brigham's influence with Joseph, from the beginning of their acquaintance, and to see therein laid the foundation of that unchallenged authority which now characterizes his reign in Utah. Nearly all the leading men during the first years of Mormon history fell out with Joseph over his personal rule; but Brigham was among the very few who clung to him. He never—or, at the farthest, but once only—challenged Joseph's right to do as he pleased, and he permits none to dispute his own.

But the Saints grew weary, and it was necessary to direct their attention away from home. So "the Lord" revealed to Joseph that "in order to save His Church" a foreign mission must be improvised, and Great Britain was selected as the new field of labour. Republicanism was at war with theocracy, and it became necessary to seek an element that had been cradled with kings.

The Apostles Heber C. Kimball and Orson Hyde were accordingly chosen to introduce the Gospel to Europe. On the 12th of June, 1837, they left Kirtland, and thus began the first foreign mission. These apostles were accompanied by other elders, and in a few months were successful in converting great numbers in England, and in doing so saved the Church in America.

During the summer, Joseph, accompanied by Sidney Rigdon and Thomas B. Marsh, the President of the Twelve Apostles, made a tour through Canada, preaching and visiting the Saints, while Brigham Young remained at home. But troubles began to loom up again in Missouri, and apostacy was coming to a crisis in Ohio.

The assassination of Joseph Smith was deplored by every right-thinking person. Aside from the horror and detestation naturally entertained against the crime of murder, it was readily seen that the dignity of martyrdom was the Prophet's crown of glory. It carved for him a place in history to which a natural death would never have conducted him.^[2]

It has been difficult for public writers to agree when summing up his character. To one class he has appeared as the knave and the impostor; to others, the fanatic and self-deceived; to his own people he was the greatest of prophets; while others still have suggested that he was the victim of the extravagances of spirit-communications with an imagination crude, uncultivated, and superstitious. Knowing little and believing much, every impression was to him a revelation, and every calamity to the world an evidence that "the end" was nigh at hand. An English writer, closing a notice of the Prophet's career, says of him:

"If anything can tend to encourage the supposition that Joseph Smith was a sincere enthusiast, maddened with religious frenzies, as many have been before and will be after him; and that he had a strong invincible faith in his own high pretensions and divine mission, it is the probability that, unless supported by such feelings, he would have renounced the unprofitable and ungrateful task, and sought refuge from persecution and misery in private life and honourable industry. But whether knave or lunatic, whether a liar or a true man, it cannot be denied that he was one of the most extraordinary persons of his time, a man of rude genius, who accomplished a much greater work than he knew, and whose name, whatever he may have been whilst living, will take its place among the notabilities of the world."^[3]

The Saints in Nauvoo received the news of the assassination on the following morning. Their grief was indescribable. It was "a day of sorrow and of darkness—a day of lamentation, and mourning, and of woe."

"With the news from Carthage came the recommendation from the apostles Taylor and Richards, and Samuel H. Smith (a brother of the murdered men), to the Saints to "be still—be patient." The Governor added to that brief epistle an injunction that the Mormons should act upon the defensive until protection could be furnished them.

The Legion was called out at ten o'clock in the morning, and addressed by W. W. Phelps, Colonel Buckmaster, the Governor's aide-de-camp, and others. Preparations were made to receive the last remains of the murdered Prophet and his brother, the Patriarch.

When the bodies were brought to the city in the afternoon, they were met by ten thousand people of every age and of both sexes, who followed the earthly relics of the martyrs to the Mansion House, and there Willard Eichards, Judge Phelps, and other prominent men, addressed the multitude. Every heart was stirred. Sorrow and indignation were mingled in every breast, and a desire for vengeance smouldered beneath the sentiments of wonder and grief.

The assembly separated peacefully, resolved to trust to the law for justice upon the assassins, and, if that failed, their implicit confidence in God for deliverance remained unshaken.^[4]

The Governor from this time did everything in his power for the preservation of peace, but this momentary check was only a temporary lull in the storm. Human efforts were now ineffectual to stem the tide of trouble which rolled in upon the Saints.

At the October term of the Hancock Circuit Court indictments were found by the Grand Jury against Levi Williams, Thos. C. Sharpe, M. Aldrich, Jacob C. Davis, Wm. N. Grover, John Allyer, Wm. Davis, John Willis, and Wm. Gallagher, for the murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. The Governor, aware of the unenviable position that he occupied in respect to the alleged charges of complicity with the mob, resolved that the prosecution should be ably and fairly conducted, and, in addition to the District Attorney, called in the aid of the Attorney-General for the State.

Out of three hundred persons summoned, and after three days' challenging, a jury was at last empanelled. Of the indicted, four only were arrested Sharpe, Grover, Davis, and Williams. The trial lasted nine days, when the jury retired, and, after an absence of three hours, returned a verdict of "Not Guilty;" a conclusion which surprised no one.

Page:The Rocky Mountain Saints.djvu/210 Page:The Rocky Mountain Saints.djvu/211 Page:The Rocky Mountain Saints.djvu/212 Page:The Rocky Mountain Saints.djvu/213 Page:The Rocky Mountain Saints.djvu/214 Page:The Rocky Mountain Saints.djvu/215 the foundation of the world; and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may bear the souls of men; for herein is the work of my Father continued, that He may be glorified.

XXV. "And again, verily, verily I say unto you, if any man have a wife who holds the keys of this power, and he teaches unto her the law of my Priesthood, as pertaining to these things, then shall she believe, and administer unto him, or she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord your God; for I will destroy her; for I will magnify my name upon all those who receive, and abide in my law. Therefore, it shall be lawful in me, if she receive not this law, for him to receive all things, whatsoever I, the Lord his God, will give unto him, because she did not administer unto him according to my word; and she then becomes the transgressor; and he is exempt from the law of Sarah, who administered unto Abraham according to the law, when I commanded Abraham to take Hagar to wife. And now, as pertaining to this law, verily, verily I say unto you, I will reveal more unto you, hereafter; therefore, let this suffice for the present. Behold, I am Alpha and Omega. Amen."

On a matter of such grave importance as the engrafting of polygamy upon the faith of the Saints, it has always been a cause of sincere regret on the part of the intelligent Mormon elders, that nothing has ever been stated about the previous teachings which Joseph Smith received on this subject—if he ever had any.^[5] On the introduction of the other doctrines of the Church, its principles of faith and commandments, there is a freedom of statement that carries the impression of honest sincerity, fearing no criticism; but on this there is an unpleasant silence.

With the departure of the Battalion, an agent accompanied them to Leavenworth, where he is reported to have drawn $20,000 "advance pay," and with that timely aid, Brigham Young made such outfitting purchases in St. Louis as were greatly needed. It is also understood that an agent continued with the Battalion until another draft could be made for their pay, before entering upon their march across the desert. Small as such sums were, yet in the situation and poverty of the exiles it was certainly timely aid from the Government. There has been much personal dissatisfaction expressed about the use made of these funds, yet the most bitter of his opponents acknowledged that Brigham showed great sagacity in at once furnishing the Battalion.^[6]

With the presence of Col. Kane and elder Little among the apostles, the Washington proceedings were explained. On the 7th of August, the Saints assembled to choose twelve men from among the elders to act as a High Council in the new Stake of Zion, organized on the banks of the Missouri, and to transact other business pertaining to the settlement of "Winter Quarters." After this meeting, a consultation was held with Colonel Kane, and the apostles advised together. It was then resolved that an address to President Polk should be framed, expressive of the gratitude of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints towards him for his benevolent design "of arming and planting five hundred of our volunteers in California, to take possession of that country, and for our good^[7] and also praying the President of the United States not to appoint Governor Boggs of Missouri–the notorious enemy of the Saints–as Governor of California and Oregon." This is a quotation from the written language of one of the apostles, and bears the stamp of the genuine sentiments of the Mormon leaders at the time. The allusion to ex-Governor Boggs is thoroughly characteristic.

Some months after the Battalion was in the service of the country, another apostle^[8] addressed the following language to the British Saints:

"Although we have been inhumanly and barbarously dealt with by the surrounding country where we dwelt, yet the President of the United States is favourably disposed to us. He has sent out orders to have five hundred of our brethren employed in an expedition that was fitting out against California, with orders for them to be employed for one year, and then to be discharged in California, and to have their arms and implements of war given to them at the expiration of the term; and as there is no prospect of any opposition, it amounts to the same as paying them for going to the place where they were destined to go without. They also had the privilege of choosing their own leaders."

Another apostle, very recently, haranguing the people in the Tabernacle upon the persecutions of the Saints, is reported in the Chicago Tribune to have uttered the following:

"The Government sent an agent who demanded five hundred volunteers for the Mexican war, which was two hundred times the proportion raised by the country. This was done that our teams, and our women, and our children, might be left defenceless in the Indian country, and so be killed or perish. They said that if we would furnish them the men, we might go on in peace; if not, they would cut us off on our journey."

This fruitful subject–"the Government persecution"–has done incalculable mischief to the Saints. It has robbed them of the natural loyalty of good citizens, and led them to curse the Government which protects them, and to pray for the overthrow and destruction of the nation. Page:The Rocky Mountain Saints.djvu/283 Page:The Rocky Mountain Saints.djvu/284 Page:The Rocky Mountain Saints.djvu/285 Page:The Rocky Mountain Saints.djvu/286 Page:The Rocky Mountain Saints.djvu/287 Page:The Rocky Mountain Saints.djvu/288 Page:The Rocky Mountain Saints.djvu/289 Nothing of special interest occurred on the journey of the pioneers beyond what has been common to all travel over the plains ; still, it is never to be forgotten that the Saints claim to have "made the roads, bridged the streams, and killed the snakes."

Before reaching Salt Lake City the pioneers met with the renowned "Jim" Bridger, who did anything but encourage them with hopes of finding a fruitful land in Salt Lake Basin, and, with the usual liberality of the West, "Jim" was prepared to give a thousand dollars for the first ear of corn that Brigham could raise there.

Jim had lived in wigwams with squaws for half a long lifetime, far away from the abodes of the "pale-faces," and up to that hour he had not heard of the wonders of the modern gospel. Brigham knew what faith was going to do his kind of faith and he prophesied liberally to Jim about what he and his squaws would yet live to see. Jim could not comprehend how that the summer-parched soil, with a rainless sky overhead, was going to sustain any body of civilized people, as those now approaching from the East, and advised the Mormons to travel on. He had "trapped" all over the country for a score of years, and knew every green sward that dotted the banks of the rivers, and had counted the verdure-clothed springs that were few and far between, and small even then. But the more that the future of Zion was doubtful in Jim's mind, the more Brigham abounded in grace and prophesied. Jim had never seen the heavens dropping rain "only very occasionally!" Brigham had studied irrigation. Jim was looking for favours from above. Brigham was counting on the labours of below.

Before the pioneers reached Salt Lake Valley they were met by elder Brannan, who had sailed from New York, in the Brooklyn, to San Francisco. He had made the journey overland to report to Brigham that California was a rich country and a glorious place for the future gathering of the Saints. But Brigham did not like the report. He preferred the desert. A choice and rich land would attract the Gentiles, and the Saints would soon be overwhelmed and rooted out, as they had been in Missouri and Illinois. He wanted to locate where there Page:The Rocky Mountain Saints.djvu/291 was nothing to tempt the Gentile emigration. He desired isolation, that he might build up "the kingdom." A detachment of one hundred and forty of the Battalion joined the pioneers en route on the 4th of July, and advanced westward with them to the Salt Lake Valley.

On the 22nd of July the apostle Orson Pratt and a few others reached the rim of the Salt Lake Basin, and the next day they rode over a portion of the valley, exploring for a camping-ground near wood and water. They returned to the camp of the pioneers, and reported that they had found the place that Joseph had spoken of where the Church could be located, and where the Saints could increase and multiply without molestation.

On the morning of the 24th of July, 1847, when Brigham Young and the body of the pioneers first got a glimpse of the Great Basin, there was a universal exclamation—"The Land of Promise! The Land of Promise!—held in reserve by the hand of God for the resting-place of His Saints!" Thus writes the historian. After a tedious journey over unmade roads, a distance of 1,100 miles, and passing through so many difficulties by the way, it would have been strange indeed had the weary travellers gazed upon the beautiful scenery of Salt Lake Valley without admiration and "ecstacies of joy." From the mouth of the canon through which the pioneers entered the valley, the view is ravishing. In the distant west the Great Salt Lake lies glistening like a sheet of silver, and in every direction that the eye can travel lofty mountains bound the horizon.

Brigham was sick when he reached the Valley, but he was no less enthusiastic than the others, and was fully satisfied that they had reached the Zion of the Mountains, that had been the theme of ancient prediction.

On the banks of a small stream southwest of the Tabernacle block, the pioneers made their first encampment, and, as soon as their horses and cattle were unhitched and cared for, the Valley of Great Salt Lake was consecrated to the Lord.

In the same hour the ploughs were taken from the wagons and the earth was upturned to receive the seed for the autumn crops, upon which so much depended for the support of the Page:The Rocky Mountain Saints.djvu/294 Page:The Rocky Mountain Saints.djvu/295

↑ Some old Mormons relate that they heard Joseph also say some time before his death: "If Brigham Young ever becomes President of the Church, he will lead it to hell." Not a few believe the latter prediction to be as correct as the former.
↑ "He is embalmed in the affectionate memory of thousands; and as time lends a halo of enchantment to encircle his name, hymns of praise and legends of his holy deeds will be sung and cherished by those who believe that the Prophet-Saint of earth is to reign a god over a brilliant world of his own creation, surrounded by happy queens and carolling children, through his own blessed eternity."—Lieut. Gunnisori's Work, p. 165.
↑ "The Mormons," p. 165. Mackay.
↑ The interment of the mortal remains of the Prophet and Patriarch was attended to with proper solemnity, and a sorrowing multitude accompanied the mourners to the burial-place; but there was a sequel to the public services which the people never knew. The bodies of Joseph and Hyrum were not in that funeral procession: they were reserved for private interment. It was believed that sacred as the tomb is always considered to be, there' were persons capable of rifling the grave in order to obtain the head of the murdered Prophet for the purpose of exhibiting it or placing it in some phrenological museum—the skull of Joseph Smith was worth money. This apprehension in point of fact proved true, for the place where the bodies were supposed to be buried was disturbed the night after the interment.

The coffins had been filled with stones, etc., to about the weight which the bodies would have been. The remains of the two brothers were then secretly buried the same night by a chosen few in the vaults beneath the Temple. The ground was then levelled and pieces of rock and other débris were scattered carelessly over the spot. But even this was not considered a sufficient safeguard against any violation of the dead, and on the following night a still more select number exhumed the remains and buried them beneath the pathway behind the Mansion House. The bricks which formed the path were carefully replaced, and the earth removed was carried away in sacks and thrown into the Mississippi.

[N. B. If this last statement is true, the bodies must have been removed a third time, as, since writing the above, the Author has it on unquestionable authority that they now repose in quite a different place.]

Brigham Young has endeavoured to obtain possession of the remains of the Prophet, that they might be interred beneath the Temple at Salt Lake. It is stated by Brigham that Joseph, like the son of Jacob, made the request that the Saints when they went to the Rocky Mountains should carry his bones with them. The family of Joseph maintain that the Prophet never expressed any such desire, but said very much to the contrary. It is affirmed that, "previous to Joseph's death, he predicted that the Church would be scattered, and saw that the time might come when Brigham Young would lead the Church; and that if he did, he would lead it to perdition. He told his wife, Emma, to remain at Nauvoo, or if she left, to go to Kirtland, and not to follow any faction."

To have given the bones of Joseph into Brigham's charge would have been to confirm the Saints in the Rocky Mountain Zion, to which the Smith family are decidedly opposed. The remains of the martyrs are destined for Zion in Missouri.
↑ Elder W. W. Phelps said in Salt Lake Tabernacle, in 1862, that while Joseph was translating the Book of Abraham, in Kirtland, Ohio, in 1835, from the papyrus found with the Egyptian mummies, the Prophet became impressed with the idea that polygamy would yet become an institution of the Mormon Church. Brigham Young was present, and was much annoyed at the statement made by Phelps, but it is highly probable that it was the real secret which the latter then divulged. The conscientious Mormon who calmly considers what is here written on the introduction of polygamy into the Mormon Church will readily see that its origin is probably much more correctly traceable to those Egyptian mummies, than to a revelation from heaven. The first paragraph of the Revelation has all the musty odour of the catacombs about it, and that Joseph went into polygamy at a venture there cannot be the slightest doubt.
↑ There are very hard stories told about the use of this money in the hands of Brigham. Affidavits have been made of his heartless indifference to the wants of the wives and families of the absent soldiers. In Mrs. Waite's "Early History of Brigham Young," pp. 6-7, the affidavit of Alexander McCord is given, relating to this affair, and bears evidence of truthfulness.
↑ The Mormons who remained in Nauvoo voted the Democratic ticket at the August election in 1846. Almond W. Babbitt, the agent of the Church there, asserted that this change in their politics was an expression of their gratitude to President Polk. Governor Ford says they voted from the following considerations:

"The President of the United States had permitted the Mormons to settle on the Indian lands on the Missouri river, and had taken five hundred of them into the service as soldiers in the war with Mexico; and in consequence of these favours the Mormons felt under obligations to vote for democrats, in support of the administration; and so determined were they that their support of the President should be efficient, that they all voted three or four times each for member of Congress."—"History of Illinois," p. 414.
↑ John Taylor, Millennial Star, November 15, 1846.

[1] Some old Mormons relate that they heard Joseph also say some time before his death: "If Brigham Young ever becomes President of the Church, he will lead it to hell." Not a few believe the latter prediction to be as correct as the former.

[2] "He is embalmed in the affectionate memory of thousands; and as time lends a halo of enchantment to encircle his name, hymns of praise and legends of his holy deeds will be sung and cherished by those who believe that the Prophet-Saint of earth is to reign a god over a brilliant world of his own creation, surrounded by happy queens and carolling children, through his own blessed eternity."—Lieut. Gunnisori's Work, p. 165.

[3] "The Mormons," p. 165. Mackay.

[4] The interment of the mortal remains of the Prophet and Patriarch was attended to with proper solemnity, and a sorrowing multitude accompanied the mourners to the burial-place; but there was a sequel to the public services which the people never knew. The bodies of Joseph and Hyrum were not in that funeral procession: they were reserved for private interment. It was believed that sacred as the tomb is always considered to be, there' were persons capable of rifling the grave in order to obtain the head of the murdered Prophet for the purpose of exhibiting it or placing it in some phrenological museum—the skull of Joseph Smith was worth money. This apprehension in point of fact proved true, for the place where the bodies were supposed to be buried was disturbed the night after the interment.

The coffins had been filled with stones, etc., to about the weight which the bodies would have been. The remains of the two brothers were then secretly buried the same night by a chosen few in the vaults beneath the Temple. The ground was then levelled and pieces of rock and other débris were scattered carelessly over the spot. But even this was not considered a sufficient safeguard against any violation of the dead, and on the following night a still more select number exhumed the remains and buried them beneath the pathway behind the Mansion House. The bricks which formed the path were carefully replaced, and the earth removed was carried away in sacks and thrown into the Mississippi.

[N. B. If this last statement is true, the bodies must have been removed a third time, as, since writing the above, the Author has it on unquestionable authority that they now repose in quite a different place.]

Brigham Young has endeavoured to obtain possession of the remains of the Prophet, that they might be interred beneath the Temple at Salt Lake. It is stated by Brigham that Joseph, like the son of Jacob, made the request that the Saints when they went to the Rocky Mountains should carry his bones with them. The family of Joseph maintain that the Prophet never expressed any such desire, but said very much to the contrary. It is affirmed that, "previous to Joseph's death, he predicted that the Church would be scattered, and saw that the time might come when Brigham Young would lead the Church; and that if he did, he would lead it to perdition. He told his wife, Emma, to remain at Nauvoo, or if she left, to go to Kirtland, and not to follow any faction."

To have given the bones of Joseph into Brigham's charge would have been to confirm the Saints in the Rocky Mountain Zion, to which the Smith family are decidedly opposed. The remains of the martyrs are destined for Zion in Missouri.

[5] Elder W. W. Phelps said in Salt Lake Tabernacle, in 1862, that while Joseph was translating the Book of Abraham, in Kirtland, Ohio, in 1835, from the papyrus found with the Egyptian mummies, the Prophet became impressed with the idea that polygamy would yet become an institution of the Mormon Church. Brigham Young was present, and was much annoyed at the statement made by Phelps, but it is highly probable that it was the real secret which the latter then divulged. The conscientious Mormon who calmly considers what is here written on the introduction of polygamy into the Mormon Church will readily see that its origin is probably much more correctly traceable to those Egyptian mummies, than to a revelation from heaven. The first paragraph of the Revelation has all the musty odour of the catacombs about it, and that Joseph went into polygamy at a venture there cannot be the slightest doubt.

[6] There are very hard stories told about the use of this money in the hands of Brigham. Affidavits have been made of his heartless indifference to the wants of the wives and families of the absent soldiers. In Mrs. Waite's "Early History of Brigham Young," pp. 6-7, the affidavit of Alexander McCord is given, relating to this affair, and bears evidence of truthfulness.

[7] The Mormons who remained in Nauvoo voted the Democratic ticket at the August election in 1846. Almond W. Babbitt, the agent of the Church there, asserted that this change in their politics was an expression of their gratitude to President Polk. Governor Ford says they voted from the following considerations:

"The President of the United States had permitted the Mormons to settle on the Indian lands on the Missouri river, and had taken five hundred of them into the service as soldiers in the war with Mexico; and in consequence of these favours the Mormons felt under obligations to vote for democrats, in support of the administration; and so determined were they that their support of the President should be efficient, that they all voted three or four times each for member of Congress."—"History of Illinois," p. 414.

[8] John Taylor, Millennial Star, November 15, 1846.

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The Rocky Mountain Saints/Chapter 11

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