CHAUNCEY W. WEST SENT ON A MISSION TO ASIA—DREAMS OF THE WRECK OF A VESSEL UPON WHICH HE HAD ENGAGED PASSAGE—LEFT THE SHIP, AND AFTERWARDS LEARNED FROM THE CREW OF THE VESSEL BEING WRECKED JUST AS HE HAD DREAMED THAT IT WOULD BE—WHILE AWAITING ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO SHIP TO CALIFORNIA WAS PROMPTED TO VACATE A HOUSE WHERE HE AND COMPANION ELDER WERE STAYING—HOUSE IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS CRUSHED BY LARGE STONE ROLLING DOWN FROM SIDE OF MOUNTAIN.
Numerous instances have occurred in the experience of the Saints in this age, and especially of the missionaries, of their lives being preserved through their heeding the warnings of the Spirit. Bishop Chauncey W. West, of Ogden, who was sent on a mission to Asia in 1852 relates some instances of this kind in a sketch of his life published in Tullidge's Histories. The field of labor to which he was assigned was Siam, but after laboring for some time in India and trying in vain to secure passage to Siam, he and Elder Dewey took passage as sailors to China. After a very trying voyage of four months they landed at Wampoo in China, near the city of Canton. Finding it still impractical to make their way to Siam, they determined if possible to get back to San Francisco. Among others to whom they applied for passage was Captain Deble, of the American Vessel "Hiega." They agreed upon the terms of their passage, and took their luggage on board on the 11th of May, 1854. Some difficulty was experienced in getting out to sea, after which fair winds soon wafted them to Hong Kong, where they arrived on the evening of the 14th. There they remained until the 23rd. Just before the time fixed for their departure Elder West had a dream in which he saw the vessel upon which they had engaged passage wrecked upon a reef, with hundreds of Chinamen clinging to her hull, while many more were in the water. The dream was repeated several times during the night, and made such an impression upon his mind that he determined to leave the ship. The Elders accordingly effected a settlement for their passage that far, and were rowed to the shore in a small boat. After spending some time at Canton and Hong Kong, being entertained at the latter place at the home of a Mr. Young, with whom they had become acquainted, Elder Dewey was taken very sick with chills and fever. Elder West waited upon him with great solicitude and he soon began to recover. One day Elder West felt impressed to remove his friend from the house to a vessel called the "Cressy," upon which he was trying to arrange for their passage to California. He was in such haste to act upon his impression that their trunks were left in the house to be sent for later.
It had been raining very hard for several days, and soon after they left the house a large rock on the mountain side, loosened by the storm, came rolling down at a terrific speed, striking and demolishing the house they had just vacated. The inmates fled, in terror from the house, but not in time for all to escape injury, as one man was killed and several others more or less hurt. The lives of the Elders were doubtless saved by their acting promptly on the warning of the spirit, for had they remained where they were a few minutes longer they would have been crushed. Elder West also subsequently met the captain of the "Hiega," who insisted upon knowing why the two Elders had abandoned the ship after engaging their passage. Elder West told him it was because of a dream he had of the vessel being wrecked. The captain then asked why he did not tell him of the dream. Elder West replied that he did not believe the captain would have had any faith in the warning that the dream conveyed to him, but would probably have denounced him as a fool for believing in it. The captain admitted that he was probably right in his conclusion.
The Elders soon found another chance of engaging passage to California, and arrived safely in San Francisco on the 7th of September, 1854.
ELDER JAMES LAWSON INSPIRED TO QUIT A STEAMBOAT ON WHICH HE WAS A PASSENGER—JUMPED ON A FLATBOAT—A FEW MOMENTS LATER THE STEAMBOAT SANK, AND MOST OF THE PASSENGERS WERE DROWNED.
Elder James Lawson, a well known resident of the 16th Ward of this city until a few years since, narrowly escaped drowning in the Mississippi river by acting promptly upon the warning of the Spirit under the following circumstances.
Having migrated from Scotland, his native land, to New Orleans in the year 1843, he obtained employment there as a ship builder and machinist until the spring of 1844, when he determined to continue his journey to Nauvoo, the destination he originally had in view. He secured cabin passage on a steamboat, but had not proceeded more than about fifty miles when he was suddenly awakened by a violent quiver of the boat caused by its hull striking a snag of some kind in the river. Not knowing the cause of the sensation, but, acting on the impulse of the moment, he sprang out of bed, hastily dressed, and, rushing on deck, jumped from the deck railing to the deck of a flatboat that was being towed alongside the steamboat. A few moments later the steamboat sank, carrying with it to a watery grave nearly all the passengers. Elder Lawson and a few other passengers who were fortunate enough to follow his example by jumping upon the flatboat saved themselves by cutting loose from the steamer and drifting with the stream until morning, when, as the flatboat neared the shore the men seized some overhanging limbs of trees and effected a landing. He leisurely made his way back to New Orleans, obtained employment and remained there until the fall of the year, when he again boarded a steamboat for Nauvoo, and in due time safely landed there.
COMFORTING ASSURANCE EXPERIENCED BY A. O. SMOOT DURING A STORM AT SEA—HIS NARROW ESCAPE FROM BEING A VICTIM OF THE SALUDA DISASTER—HIS ACCOUNT OF THE EXPLOSION.
The blowing up of the steamboat "Saluda" has often been mentioned as the only really serious catastrophe, resulting in loss of life to a company of migrating Saints in this age on a voyage. It is certainly very remarkable, in view of the many thousands of Saints in hundreds of vessels of all kinds that have crossed oceans and traversed rivers that so few have lost their lives upon the water. It is a very strong proof that the protecting power of the Almighty has been over them, for there have been numerous narrow escapes from disasters at sea. Indeed it has been so apparent that a special providence has been over the Saints that others as well as the Saints have been impressed by the fact. The remark has been made upon many occasions by ship owners and sea captains that a company of "Mormons," as passengers, was the best insurance they could have upon a vessel, as it was felt that nothing serious could happen to the craft while they were on board of it. A good many instances are on record of Latter-day Saint Missionaries being solicited to accept free passage on vessels for the protection it was felt their presence would afford. Doubtless one of the evidences that tends to convince sea captains that "Mormon" missionaries or emigrants are the subjects of divine favor and protection is the feeling of confidence and trust they usually exhibit when beset by danger, and when others quake with fear. The assurance of divine care that comes through the Holy Spirit is quite as potent in influencing their actions as is the warning of danger from the same source. The late President A. O. Smoot gives an instance of this in connection with his account of the "Saluda" horror. From the latter it will be seen that the Saints might have been saved from participating in that had the spirit's warning to him been heeded.
"On my return from England in 1852, on board the new steamer "Pacific" we encountered a severe storm, in which the deck was swept clear of rigging, the deck cabin, one of the wheels, both wheel houses and the bulwarks. The steamer was entirely submerged in the sea at one time, and had she not been very well built she would never have come to the surface again. It looked like a precarious time, but I felt an assurance that the vessel would be saved, and in the midst of all the excitement which prevailed among the crew and passengers I felt quite calm. I had seventeen thousand dollars in gold in my possession, and I did not even fear that I would lose that. Our preservation, however, was certainly providential, for the vessel was in a terribly dilapidated condition, but we finally arrived safely in New York with the wrecked vessel, after a voyage of sixteen days.
"I subsequently had a very narrow escape on the occasion of the "Saluda" disaster. I had purchased the supplies for my company to make its overland journey with, except cattle, at St. Louis, and had decided to go farther up the river to buy the stock, when Eli B. Kelsey came to me to consult with me in regard to chartering the "Saluda" to convey an independent company of Saints up the river. I went with him to examine the boat, and on finding that it was an old hulk of a freight boat, fitted up with a single engine, I strongly advised him against having anything to do with it. He seemed to be influenced in making choice of it entirely by the fact that he could get it cheaper than a better one; but in my opinion it seemed folly, for, in addition to the danger of accident, the length of time likely to be occupied in making the journey would more than counterbalance what might be saved in the charge for transit. However, he decided to charter it, and then both he and the captain urged me strongly to take passage with them, offering to carry me free of cost if I would only go, but I could not feel satisfied to do so. I followed a few days afterwards on the "Isabella," and overtook them at Lexington, where the "Saluda" was stopped by the float-ice and was unable to proceed farther. I went on board of her to visit the Saints (who were in charge of D. J. Ross, Eli B. Kelsey having gone ashore to purchase cattle,) and left just before the last plank was drawn in, preparatory to attempting to start. I had not walked to exceed two hundred yards after leaving the "Saluda" before the explosion occurred, and on turning to look in the direction of the ill-fated boat I saw the bodies of many of the unfortunate passengers and various parts of the boat flying in the air in every direction. Fortunately for the Saints on Board, they were mostly on the deck of the boat and pretty well towards the stern, and they consequently fared better than those who were below, or on the forepart of the boat, which was blown entirely to pieces. As it was, however, upwards of twenty of the Saints were lost or subsequently died of their wounds. My own preservation I can only attribute to the providence of the Almighty, for if I had remained a moment on the wharf to see the boat start, as would have been very natural for a person to do, I would have been blown into eternity as those were who stood there."
SERIES OF ESCAPES EXPERIENCED BY PRESIDENT WOODRUFF THROUGH HEEDING THE SPIRIT'S WARNINGS—INSTANCE OF FAILING TO DO SO.
President Wilford Woodruff, who was specially susceptible to spiritual impressions and guidance, has related many instances of the Spirit prompting him to do or refrain from doing certain things, with the results of his action in the premises, from which the following are culled as samples:
"In 1848, after my return to Winter Quarters from our pioneer journey, I was appointed by the Presidency of the Church to take my family and go to Boston, to gather up the remnant of the Saints and lead them to the valleys of the mountains.
"While on my way east I put my carriage into the yard of one of the brethren in Indiana, and Brother Orson Hyde set his wagon by the side of mine, and not more than two feet from it.
"Dominicus Carter, of Provo, and my wife and four children were with me. My wife, one child and I went to bed in the carriage, the rest sleeping in the house.
"I had been in bed but a short time, when a voice said to me, 'Get up, and move your carriage.'
"It was not thunder, lightning nor an earth-quake, but the still, small voice of the Spirit of God—the Holy Ghost.
"I told my wife I must get up and move my carriage. She asked, 'What for?'
"I told her I did not know, only the Spirit told me to do it.
"I got up and moved my carriage several rods, and set it by the side of the house.
"As I was returning to bed, the same Spirit said to me, 'Go and move your mules from that oak tree,' which was about one hundred yards north of our carriage.
"I moved them to a young hickory grove and tied them up. I then went to bed.
"In thirty minutes a whirlwind caught the tree to which my mules had been fastened, broke it off near the ground and carried it one hundred yards, sweeping away two fences in its course, and laid it prostrate through that yard where my carriage stood, and the top limbs hit my carriage as it was.
"In the morning I measured the trunk of the tree which fell where my carriage had stood, and I found it to be five feet in circumference. It came within a foot of Brother Hyde's wagon, but did not touch it.
"Thus by obeying the revelation of the Spirit of God to me I saved my life, the lives of my wife and child, as well as my animals.
"In the morning I went on my way rejoicing.
"While returning to Utah in 1850, with a large company of Saints from Boston and the east, on my arrival at Pittsburg, I engaged a passage for myself and company on a steamer to St. Louis. But no sooner had I engaged the passage than the Spirit said to me, 'Go not on board of that steamer; neither you nor your company.'
"I obeyed the revelation to me, and I did not go on board, but took another steamer.
"The first steamer started at dark, with two hundred passengers on board. When five miles down the Ohio river it took fire and burned the tiller ropes, so that the vessel could not reach the shore, and the lives of nearly all on board were lost either by fire or water. We arrived in safety at our destination, by obeying the revelation of the Spirit of God to us.
"In another instance, after attending a large annual conference in Salt Lake City, and, having a good deal of business to attend to, I was somewhat weary, and at the close of the conference I thought L would repair to my home and have a rest.
"As I went into the yard the Spirit said to me, 'Take your team and go to the farm,' which is some three miles south of the Tabernacle.
"As I was hitching the horse to the wagon Mrs. Woodruff asked where I was going.
"I said, 'To the farm.'
"'What for?' she asked.
"'I do not know,' I replied; but when I arrived there I found out.
"The creek had overflowed, broken through my ditch, surrounded my home, and filled my barnyard and pig pen. My wife was wading in the water, trying to turn it from the lot, to save the home and family.
"Through my own exertions I soon turned it and prevented much damage that might have occurred had I not obeyed the voice of the Spirit.
"This same Spirit of revelation has been manifested to many of my brethren in their labors in the kingdom of God, one of which I will here name.
"Elder Charles C. Rich was going from Sacramento to San Bernardino with a company of brethren. He had in his possession a large amount of money to make payment on their land purchase. This was known to some road agents in the vicinity, who gathered a company of robbers and went on ahead of Brother Rich and lay in ambush, intending to kill the 'Mormons' and rob them of their money.
"Before reaching the company of robbers Brother Rich came to a by-path or trail. The Spirit then told him to take that path.
"The brethren with him marveled at his course, not knowing that enemies awaited them, but they arrived in safety at San Bernardino with their lives and money, while the robbers wondered why their prey did not come."
EXCERPTS FROM DISCOURSE DELIVERED IN THE TABERNACLE, SALT LAKE CITY, APRIL 26, 1914—METHODIST EPISCOPAL MINISTER CONVERTED TO MORMONISM—GOES TO ENGLAND AS A MORMON MISSIONARY—CALLS UPON HIS FORMER MINISTER—HIS UNDIGNIFIED RECEPTION—ANTI "MORMON" ASSERTION DISPROVED BY FACTS—A MINISTER'S CONFESSION—PUZZLING QUESTIONS PROPOUNDED TO MINISTERS, UNANSWERED—ATTITUDE OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS THEREON—UNSEEN EVIDENCE OF POWER—A PREDICTION BY THE GIFT OF TONGUES THAT WAS LITERALLY FULFILLED—TRUTH ONLY STRENGTHENED BY ATTEMPTS TO OVERTHROW IT—KARL G. MAESER'S CONVERSION—HIS PLEDGE AND ITS FULFILLMENT—BEN BUTLER'S ADVICE.
I rejoice in a testimony of the divinity of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith in our day. I rejoice in being able to proclaim to all the world that I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the true and living God; that I know the gospel of Jesus Christ, commonly called "Mormonism," is in very deed the plan of life and salvation; that it is that gospel which it was proclaimed should in the latter-days be restored again to the earth by an angel flying in the midst of heaven, proclaiming it to every nation, kindred, tongue and people upon the face of the earth.
"O," says one, "but I do not believe that you have this knowledge." Yet, the fact remains that individual disbelief regarding some information and knowledge that another man has cannot change the knowledge of that man, if in very deed he has it. I know nothing of chemistry. Therefore, when a chemist tells me certain things in a sugar factory, his statement may seem absurd to me. When he tells me that by pouring two half-filled glasses of water together that water will immediately change to red, blue, green or some other color, it seems absurd to me because the water appears to me to be perfectly pure and colorless. But with the knowledge that the chemist has, he knows what the result will be when he makes this mixture, and he demonstrates before our eyes the truth of all the statements he makes.
Now, we maintain, as Latter-day Saints, that men and women who will look into and examine and study the gospel of Jesus Christ, as revealed in our day through the Prophet Joseph Smith, can demonstrate its truth to their reasoning faculties; and if they will pray to God for the inspiration of His spirit to guide and enlighten their minds, they can also demonstrate by the Spirit of God, the divinity of this work in which we are engaged.
I call to mind that while presiding over the European mission, one of the most eloquent preachers, one of the best reasoners upon the gospel, among the Elders who went out to preach while I was there, was Benjamin Burchell, who came to Utah as a young man from England, to be a preacher, if I recollect aright, for the Methodist Episcopal church. His field of labor was Nephi, Juab county. The superintendent of his church for this inter-mountain region gave him instructions, one of which was: "Don't read the Book of Mormon; don't read any of the 'Mormon' literature;" and the superintendent gave him a great deal of anti-'Mormon' literature to read and study. The young man loaded his double-barrelled gun, so to speak, with anti-'Mormon' bullets, and one of the men that he fired them at was the bishop of one of the wards in Nephi; and they didn't seem to hurt the bishop any. He said in substance, "Who filled you full of those lies?" The young man said: "They are not lies; they are true." The bishop replied: "How do you know they are true? I have lived here all my life, and I know that everything you have said is false."
The young man became interested. He said, "Bishop, can I come down to your house and spend an evening with you?" "Come along and you can spend a dozen"; and he did spend an evening, two or three evenings, and bought the Book of Mormon and studied the gospel. He afterwards resigned his salary received from the Methodist Episcopal church and went back to England—not for a salary—to preach the gospel, but he went back without money and without price, and at his own expense, to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ which he had found to be true and which he had embraced. One of the first men that he called on was the minister of the church that he belonged to before he came to Utah. The minister was delighted to meet him, and welcomed him back home. He had heard nothing of his conversion to "Mormonism." The young man took some "Mormon" tracts out of his pocket, and he said in substance to the minister: "I wish you would tell me how to answer these claims of the Latter-day Saints." He then asked a number of questions. The minister commenced floundering around like a fish out of water, and finally he turned, and with a word that some people say is not profanity but only emphasis, he shook his fist at the young man and said "D—n you, I believe you have joined that church." The young man smiled and said "Yes." Then he jumped up, and with some more emphasis he ordered him out of his house. That is the way he answered the arguments of the young man.
I hold in my hand a letter written by a man who came to Utah, representing a church here; and he was told that we Latter-day Saints, commonly called "Mormons," were practically a lot of heathens and barbarians. He discovered we were an intelligent people; that we were a God-fearing people; that we had brotherly love one for another; that we were industrious; that according to the Savior's rule—"By their fruits ye shall know them"—that this was about the finest community he had ever lived in. He lived in one of our southern counties. Afterwards he was transferred to one of our northern counties, and he found that same state of affairs; and finally he writes:
"You will agree with me that from the position of a regularly ordained minister to the confession of truth and divinity of the gospel of 'Mormonism' is a long road to travel. It is because I believe that I have traveled that road that I want to write to you. As I see it now, this is my confession of faith. I believe that the gospel of Christ is taught in its purity by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that his work is owned of God. I believe in the restoration of the gospel and in the authority of the priesthood, and I believe that the sects of modern Christendom are the result of the spiritual darkness in the world. I know from experience how impossible it is for the blind to lead the blind."
I remember when I was in Europe—and I have quoted it many times—reading with a great deal of interest a book entitled, "The Young Man and the World," written by Senator Beveridge. In this book the senator said that during an entire summer vacation, a man with good opportunities to get proper answers, asked of a large number of ministers through the New England states, three questions:
"Do you believe in God, the Father; God a person, God a definite and tangible intelligence—not a congeries of laws floating like a fog through the universe; but God a person in whose image you were made? Don't argue; don't explain; but is your mind in a condition where you can answer yes or no?" Not one minister answered, Yes.
The next question was: "Do you believe that Christ was the son of the living God, sent by him to save the world? I am not asking whether you believe that he was inspired in the sense that the great moral teachers are inspired—nobody has any difficulty about that. But do you believe that Christ was God's very Son, with a divinely appointed and definite mission, dying on the cross and raised from the dead?" Not one minister answered, Yes.
The third question was: "Do you believe that when you die you will live again as a conscious intelligence, knowing who you are and who other people are?" Not a man answered Yes.
He said that these ministers were particularly high-grade ministers. Many of them had gained renown for their piety and for their eloquence in proclaiming the gospel, as they understood it, and yet all of them were regretting the lack of interest in the gospel and the absence of audiences to listen to their preaching. Mr. Beveridge says: "How could such priests of ice warm the souls of men? How could such apostles of interrogation convert a world?" There are no priests of interrogation among the Latter-day Saints. The answer by every preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith, to these questions, down to our children that go to Sabbath school, is Yes, Yes, Yes, without a moment's hesitation. There is no doubt; there is no dubiety in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints. We have, behind the shadow of a doubt, the absolute witness of the Spirit that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the true and living God. We know that the gifts and graces that belonged in the ancient church are to be found here today; we know that the gift of tongues is enjoyed by the Latter-day Saints; and these are some of the fruits of the gospel of Jesus Christ as enjoyed by the early Saints.
"O, but—" says one, "I don't believe that you have any gift of tongues by the inspiration of the spirit of God."
As a boy, I once took hold of the ends of an electric battery. They had some handles for me to take hold of. I was a child at that time. I had never had any shock of electricity; and the teacher who was manipulating it was not very well posted, and he turned on altogether too strong a current, and I could not let go. I hopped around there and yelled "Turn it off, turn it off!" Well, somebody who did not see, or feel, or know anything about electricity would say, "What is the matter with that fool, with a couple of pieces of tin in his hand, yelling 'Turn it off?'"
Could anybody tell me that I did not know, as a boy in old Brother Doremus's school, that I got a solid shock of electricity? Not a bit of it. I know that I received the electric shock; there is no doubt of it in my mind. Likewise, I know that the gift of tongues is in this church. Why? Because when I was ruined financially, working till midnight, every night, struggling to maintain my honor and my credit, when I came home one morning—between 1 and 2 o'clock in the morning—my wife, whose body now lies in the tomb, was sitting up waiting for me, and I chided her for it; she turned and by the gift of tongues, and having the interpretation thereof herself, she gave me a wonderful and marvelous blessing, every word of which has been fulfilled. I knew well that she was giving me a blessing, as I sat there and wept like a child, while she was addressing me, without understanding a single word that she said, I know that God testified to me that she was giving me a blessing just as well as I know that I received the electric shock.
When I was a boy, playing upon the floor in a Relief society meeting,—my mother being the president of a Relief society, (I grew up in the Relief society, and I have often said I am entitled to be a member, a charter member almost)—in that meeting I heard Grandma Whitney sing some of the most beautiful songs I have ever listened to, and they were all sung in an unknown tongue. After she finished Sister Eliza R. Snow (who wrote the famous "Mormon" hymn, "O My Father," which refers to our heavenly mother) gave a blessing to each of those present. I heard President Smith say that he attended a concert given by our Tabernacle choir at the World's fair, in Chicago; and one of the songs, "O My Father," was sung by Robert C. Easton. When it came to the part, "Truth is reason, truth eternal, Tells me I've a mother there," a man sitting by, said, "I have believed that all my life, but I daren't say so." Well, we dare say it and have said it all over the world. The sister who, by the inspiration of the Spirit of God, wrote that hymn, gave to each one of the good sisters in that Relief society meeting a blessing. Zina D. Young gave the interpretation. After this blessing had been given to each of the good sisters, Sister Snow turned to the child on the floor and gave him a blessing, and Aunt Zina interpreted it, and the blessing was a prediction that I should live to occupy the position that I am occupying here today as one of the leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am the recipient of a blessing predicted by the gift of tongues and fulfilled twenty years afterward. I could go on and relate incident after incident of a like character.
In the letter of this man that I referred to, there were some things that reminded me very much of the conversion of Karl G. Maeser. What led the former to more thoroughly investigate the gospel, after leaving Utah, was the reading of an attack on the Latter-day Saints, which threatened to destroy the whole structure; and he was disappointed with the attack, and so went on with his investigation. When I was a youngster—I am getting away from the Maeser incident, but I will return—when I was a youngster I read the book entitled Nelson on Infidelity. Mr. Nelson said that he was ready and willing to loan any young man any number of volumes in favor of the infidel idea, if the young man would only read the other side; and further he said in substance: "The reason I am ready and willing to loan any number of books on the infidel side, is that if the young man will read the answer he will discover that his champion is lying; and every time a man discovers that his leader is lying, it weakens his faith in him even when he tells the truth. During my three years' presidency of the European mission, I never found any of the ministers over there who did not warn all their flock against the literature and the teachings of the Latter-day Saints; yet I never warned our missionaries, some of whom had never spoken in public before, against the literature of any religion. In all the world, for eighty years, the ministers of Christendom have never converted even one poor, down-trodden, ignorant "Mormon" missionary; but we have captured ministers; we have captured their divines and their leading men; and Wilford Woodruff captured all their churches in one community and baptized sixteen hundred people, including most of their ministers, and all in eight months."
Now, coming back to Karl G. Maeser, who was a professor in a German university. He had that discriminating, analytical German mind which searches down to the bottom of things. He read in an illustrated magazine that the "Mormons" were barbarians, an adulterous, wicked lot of people; that a man opposed to them, took his life in his hands, when he walked the streets of Salt Lake. That reminds me of something else (I will have to leave Maeser for a moment). There was a gentleman who went to Washington from Utah and tried to get the seat in Congress belonging to George Q. Cannon. He told all such stories, and when he had finished all that Brother Cannon said was: "He is still alive. If what that man has said were true, we would have buried him long ago." When Ben Butler visited Salt Lake City, the anti-"Mormons" gave him a dinner (five dollars a plate) and told him that the "Mormons" ought to be disfranchised; and that all those who opposed them were taking their lives in their hands. Ben replied in substance: "I believe what you have said. I have a remedy. The United States is broad. Leave this d—d country and don't take any chances, gentlemen, of getting killed."
Karl G. Maeser read a vicious attack upon the "Mormons"—about the "Danites" and the "Destroying Angels," and so on, and so forth. Then he found in the same article that the "Mormons" were industrious, that they were frugal, that there was not a poor-house in all the territory of Utah, that the fifteen per cent of Gentile population, among them then furnished eighty-five per cent of the criminals, according to United States statistics, compiled by the Gentiles themselves. He found that there was not one saloon in the entire territory of Utah, and that the only place where whiskey was sold was in Salt Lake City; and, to the disgrace of the city government, they were selling it. That is what he found on the temperance question. He found that there was not a single house of ill fame in the whole of Utah. He found that the people went to bed at night with their front and back doors open. After reading all this he said to himself: "The man who wrote this illustrated article for the magazine is a liar. The fruits of honesty, industry sobriety, and brotherly love do not grow among immoral and wicked people," so he sent for some tracts, investigated the gospel and embraced it. On the night of his baptism, which occurred at midnight, he looked up to heaven and said, in substance: "O, God, if what I have done tonight meets with your approval, and you will give to me the witness of the Spirit that this gospel, that I believe, is in very deed the truth, that I may know it, I pledge my life, if need be, to its promulgation and its advancement."
From Canada on the north to Mexico on the south there are thousands, yes, tens of thousands, who can bear witness that this pledge, made at Dresden, Germany, at midnight, was fulfilled by one of the most devoted, unselfish, and self-sacrificing mortals who ever embraced the gospel of Christ. For if any man ever gave his life, his heart, and his soul for the advancement of this cause, Karl G. Maeser did so. God heard and answered that prayer. Walking from the river in which he was baptized, Karl G. Maeser was conversing upon the principles of the gospel with the late Apostle Franklin D. Richards, and Brother William Budge was acting as interpreter. Brother Richards talking in English and Brother Maeser in German. They began their walk of several miles to return home. After walking a short distance Brother Maeser announced to Brother Budge that he need not interpret the answers, that he understood them. Immediately thereafter, Brother Franklin said, "You need not interpret those questions; I understand them." They walked for miles, Franklin D. Richards answering questions in English, Karl G. Maeser asking them in German, neither knowing the other's language, yet by the inspiration of the Spirit of God, both understanding each other. Do you tell me that I don't know that we have the gift of tongues in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? As well tell me that I do not know that I am standing here before you today. I have this testimony from the lips of a man, than whom no more honest, no more upright, no truer man ever drew the breath of life. When these two men reached the bridge that spans the river Elbe, on their way into the city of Dresden, they were separated, and when they reached the other side of the bridge Brother Maeser again began asking questions, but Brother Richards could not then understand him, nor could Brother Maeser understand anything further that was said in reply; and they were obliged to revert to Brother Budge's interpretation. Then Brother Maeser turned to Brother Richards and said, "What does this mean, we could understand each other for miles, and now we can't understand?" "Brother Maeser," said Apostle Richards, "the Lord has given to you a portion of the fruit of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as restored in our day. For some wise reason he has allowed you to enjoy one of the manifestations of the Spirit accompanying the true gospel of Christ." Brother Maeser told me, with tears rolling down his cheeks, although it had been nearly 50 years since he had that manifestation, that he realized that God had heard and answered his prayers. At the close of the incident I have related, Brother Maeser looked up again into heaven, and he said: "O God, my Father in heaven, I will fulfil my promise to give my life to this cause"; and he did it. He became the grand old man, educationally, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—a man without a thought of personal aggrandizement, without a thought of seeking honor for himself, personally, but with only a desire to save souls, to build up the kingdom of God, and to promulgate this gospel at home and abroad.
I rejoice in the fact that in every land and in every clime, wherever this gospel message has penetrated, the fruits of the gospel have been enjoyed—the healing of the sick, speaking in tongues, the interpretation of tongues, every gift and grace, and every power that was ever enjoyed by the former-day Saints, are enjoyed by the Latter-day Saints. I rejoice in knowing that I myself stand here today a living witness to the healing power of Almighty God, that is in the Church of Christ. Given up by eight doctors to die, yet under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, the man who is now the prophet of God, on the earth, said as he blessed me that I should live, and I do live, notwithstanding the doctors said that blood poisoning in the third and last stage had set in, in my case. My family physician told me to send for my reporter, and tell my last little story, because I was doomed to die. Did I send for the reporter? No. Perfect faith gave me to know I should live. Although my doctor told me I should die, Sister Grant and I knew to the contrary. She received a visit from my wife, whose body lies in the tomb, the same wife who enjoyed the gift of tongues and its interpretation. After her death, she came to my home, before I was operated upon, and told my wife no matter how seriously ill I was, I should not die, that I should live, because my mission was not yet ended; that I should yet lift up my voice in many lands, and many climes, proclaiming the restitution of the gospel to the earth. So, when the doctors said I must die, Sister Grant and I had no dear, because we knew better. I asked how long I could live; the doctors said, "not over three days." At the end of three days, I was better, and they could not understand it. So they had the poisonous pus from my body analysed again; and lo and behold, according to their verdict, I ought to have been dead two days; but I was getting better. I was promised by the gift of tongues, that I should lift up my voice in many lands and many climes, proclaiming this gospel. At the time of this operation, I was promised by the visitation of my deceased wife that I should not die, that my mission was not ended. Since then I have been in Japan; I have been in Canada; I have been in Mexico; I have preached from Portland, Me., to Portland, Or.; from Canada on the north to Mexico on the south. I have been over the British Isles, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales—in Scandinavia, France, Germany, Italy and Belgium, proclaiming that God lives; and yet, according to the doctors, I ought to have been dead. I have thus seen fulfilled the promise made by that visitation of my wife, that I should live and proclaim this gospel. I know that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith is his prophet, and that "Mormonism," so called by the world, is indeed the gospel of life and salvation, the gospel of Jesus Christ, again restored to the earth. God help us, who have this testimony, to live in conformity with its doctrines, is my prayer, in the name of our Lord and Master. Amen.
ANSON CALL'S BIRTH AND CHARACTER—INVESTIGATED "MORMONISM" TO DISPROVE IT, AND BECAME CONVERTED—IMPEDIMENT IN HIS SPEECH CURED WHEN ADMINISTERED TO—AN ANTI-"MORMON" MISSOURIAN—BUY FARMS IN CALDWELL COUNTY—THE PROPHET VISITS MISSOURI—ADVISES ABANDONMENT OF HOMES—MOB TRIES TO PREVENT THEIR REMOVAL—FLEE BY NIGHT—ADAM-ONDI-AHMAN AND FAR WEST BESIEGED.
Anson Call, Counselor to the President of the Davis Stake of Zion, who died August 31st,, 1890, was extensively known as a pioneer, a wise counselor and successful man of affairs, and to his intimates as a man of the strongest convictions and highest courage, who would risk his life anytime for principle or in defense of his fellows. His whole career from the time he embraced the Gospel was so full of self-sacrifice for the cause of Truth that a brief sketch of the principal events is well worthy of record in the Faith Promoting Series.
He was born in the town of Fletcher, Franklin County, Vermont, May 13, 1810. His ancestors for several generations, had been conspicuous in the struggle for religious and political liberty, and he probably inherited the strong traits of character that distinguished them. When Anson was seven years old his father's family removed to Geauga, now Lake County, Ohio, then a wild region which offered very few educational opportunities. But, while he had little chance during his childhood and youth for schooling his experience was favorable for the development of industry and self-reliance, qualities that were strong characteristics in his later life. He married when twenty-three years of age, his wife, Mary Flint, being the daughter of a wealthy Vermont farmer who had purchased a valuable farm in Ohio and located his two daughters thereon with the intention of bequeathing the property to them, but decided to disinherit them when his son-in-law, Anson Call, and they, joined the "Mormons."
Most of the Call family were Methodists, but Anson, although he was a searcher after Truth, could not subscribe to that creed. Brigham Young and other prominent Elders occasionally preached the newly revealed Gospel in the region where the Call family lived, and when Anson found himself unable to cope with them in a discussion of religion he attributed his failure to his unfamiliarity with the Bible. He therefore began a critical study of the Bible and Book of Mormon in the hope of controverting what they taught, but with a different result to what he anticipated. To his surprise if not regret his three years hard study for the purpose mentioned resulted in a conviction that "Mormonism" was true. He accordingly announced in a Methodist meeting his intention of joining the "Mormons," and started with his wife for a trip to Kirtland, then the gathering place of the Saints, where he was baptized by William Smith, brother of the prophet, and confirmed by David Whitmer, one of the three witness to the Book of Mormon.
Immediately afterwards he was administered to for an impediment in his speech, and experienced relief, and was promised that his speech should be natural and proper so long as he used his tongue for the advancement of truth.
He was also ordained an Elder, and on his return to his home preached the Gospel to his old associates and neighbors. About thirty persons in the region of his home, mostly Methodists, joined the Church as a result of the preaching, his wife and his father's family being included in the number.
In March, 1838, in company with his father and his brother Harvey, Anson started to Missouri, whither some of the leading Elders of the Church had already gone. They journeyed by steamboat part of the way, and had for companions Asahel Smith, uncle to the prophet, and George Gee and their wives. While steaming up the Missouri river they were accosted by a fellow passenger who remarked that he had heard there were some "Mormons" on board the boat. Elder Smith told him the rumor was correct, and that he and his companions were "Mormons." The stranger then inquired to what part they were going, and was informed that Far West was their destination. "I am sorry to see such a respectable looking company journeying to that place," was the rejoinder. Being asked why he felt sorry, he said: "Because you will be driven from there in less than six months." "By whom" was asked. "By the Missourians, gentlemen," he replied, and then added, "I presume you are not aware of the gentlemen you are talking to." "Yes, gentlemen," was the response, "I am Colonel Wilson, of Jackson County. I was one of the principal actors in driving the "Mormons" from that country, and I expect to be soon engaged in driving them from Caldwell County." He strongly advised them to stop in some other place and not to venture into Caldwell County, declaring if they did so they would certainly be butchered; for "Mormonism" must and shall be put down." He read a letter to the brethren which he said he had just received from Randerson Newell. He was reminded that it was made up of falsehoods concerning the Saints in Kirtland, and replied "True or false, Joe's career must and shall be stopped!" As he turned to depart after this last remark Anson Call said to him, "If you will wait a moment I will tell you the way it can be done, for there is but one way." "What is that, sir?" the Missourian sharply demanded. "Dethrone the Almighty, and Joseph Smith's career will be ended, and never will it be until then."
The steamer stopped at Jefferson City, and Anson was there introduced by Colonel Wilson to a dozen or so of the "Jackson County boys," the notorious Governor Boggs among the number. When informed that Mr. Call was a "Mormon" on his way to Caldwell County, they indulged in a sneering laugh.
The boat proceeded to Jack's Landing, where the company left the river. Anson and his father traveled on foot from there to Far West. They afterwards purchased land in Caldwell County upon which to establish homes, and then the father returned to Ohio, to make arrangements for the removal to Missouri. In July, 1838, Anson started towards Ohio and met his family journeying to Missouri. After resting and visiting a few days in Far West he settled his family on his farm on Grand river, being accompanied by Phinears H. Young, John Snider, Joel Terry and others.
During the following September the Saints living in that region were visited by the Prophet Joseph Smith, his brother Hyrum and Sidney Rigdon. On the sabbath after the public services, which were attended by a number of Missourians, the Prophet notified some of the Brethren that he wished to see them by themselves to discuss matters of importance. He quietly retired with about twelve of them to a corn field, and advised them to abandon their homes and locate in Far West or Adam-ondi-Ahman, as trouble and difficulties were about to overtake them, and they ought to be where they could protect themselves and their families. Being asked if they could have time to gather their crops and dispose of their possessions, he replied that they had better not sell their farms, but he thought they would have time to save their crops. The following day the neighbors assembled and discussed the counsel they had received. They decided to try to save their crops, and selected Anson Call to make a hurried trip through Davis, Caldwell and Ray counties to ascertain the temper of the Missourians and learn if possible their plans in regard to the "Mormons," and bring them word as quickly as possible, so they could govern themselves accordingly. Anson made the trip and returned home without finding any indications of trouble while absent, but found great excitement in the neighborhood of his home on his return. The Saints there had succeeded in securing their crops, and as peace still continued had gone for a bee hunt for four days, returning with wagons loaded down with honey. Encouraged by their immunity to still linger, they went on a second bee hunt, but had little success, as the weather was stormy. On returning home they found great excitement prevailing. The mobocrats under the leadership of Neil Gillium were guarding every road to prevent the escape of the "Mormons," and threatened to kill them if they attempted to leave. They had attempted to kill Phineas H. Young, but he escaped by hiding in a bunch of corn stalks, where he remained and was fed for four days by Anson Call.
Becoming impatient, the Saints determined to make their way to Adam-ondi-Ahman, thirty miles distant, in spite of the threats of the mob. Leaving their families, a number of the men started with their teams loaded with household goods in the evening and succeeded in reaching Adam-ondi-Ahman about daylight the following morning. There they learned of the Crooked River battle and of the election riot at Gallatin. They found also that many Saints from the surrounding region had assembled at that place and at Far West. No help could be obtained, but under cover of the next night the brethren from Grand River returned to their families. The mob there were terribly incensed at the brethren for having slipped away, and especially at Anson Call for the part he had taken, and indulged in all manner of threats. However, the next day quiet preparations were made to again leave. After dark a four horse team was loaded with such few of their effects as they could take along, and Phineas H. Young and Daniel Jackson and their wives (both women being sisters of Oliver Cowdery) and Anson Call and his wife and her sister, and the children of the three families (seven in number) also Harvey Call, all crowded into the wagon, while Joel Terry and his wife and child in a separate wagon drawn by a single horse accompanied them. Leaving the public road and taking a new route across the prairies, they escaped the vigilance of the mob under cover of darkness and arrived in Adam-ondi-Ahman at noon on the following day. Here they found a few of the people living in houses, but far more under tents and a variety of other improvised shelters, with very little to protect them from the elements. Anson selected the top of a fallen oak tree as a partial shelter for his family, and then conveyed some corn to a horse mill and returned with some meal for their supper.
The Saints were in fear that the mob might swoop down upon them at any moment, and placed guards around the settlement to give warning of the first indication of danger. About one o'clock in the night the alarm was sounded. "The mob is upon us!" The men rallied and prepared to offer the best defense they could, while the women hastily dressed themselves and the children and awaited in terror they knew not what. But to their surprise and relief the supposed mob proved to be a party of the brethren from Far West. The relief, however, was only temporary, for word was brought that the Saints in Far West had been besieged and had capitulated to save bloodshed; that the Prophet Joseph Smith and others were in the hands of their enemies; and that the Saints in Adam-ondi-Ahman were notified that they would be called upon to surrender about ten o'clock the following morning. True to promise, Colonel Parks with five hundred Missourians under his command, appeared before the town, formed a hollow square and demanded that the Saints march therein and surrender their arms and ammunition within an hour. The brethren who had come from Far West having brought word that it was the advice of the Prophet Joseph Smith that the Saints comply with the demands of the mob without resistance, they did so, but with grave misgivings.
After disarming them Colonel Parks notified the defenseless Saints that he would allow them ten days in which to remove from the state, and detailed 200 of his men to remain "as guards," and to see that his order of eviction was complied with.
Shortly afterward, while Anson Call and his family were eating their breakfast in their camp in the fallen treetop, two of these guards appeared before them and asked a number of questions. The replies not suiting them, they shocked and frightened the family by the abusive language they indulged in and leveled their guns at Anson and threatened to shoot him, which they evidently expected to frighten him, and seemed chagrined that it did not have that effect.
SUFFERING FROM COLD WEATHER—ANSON VISITS ELK HORN—CAPTURED AND ILL-TREATED BY A MOB—TREATS THE MOB TO WHISKEY, AND ESCAPES—TIRESOME JOURNEY TO FAR WEST—VISITS HIS FARM CONTRARY TO COUNSEL—FINDS HIS PROPERTY IN POSSESSION OF MOBOCRATS, WHO ASSAULT HIM—APOSTATES TRY TO USE ANSON TO DISCREDIT THE PROPHET—ANSON'S FIDELITY.
The second night after the surrender was extremely cold, and many of the Saints, including the Call family, who were almost without protection from the elements, suffered severely. Little Moroni Call had his fingers so badly frozen that the nails came off shortly afterwards as a consequence. Anson, fearing the effect of further exposure of his family to such inclement weather, applied to Colonel Parks for permission to go to Far West, and received the following permit from him:
"I permit Anson Call to remove to Far West and thence out of the State."
The "guards" appeared to take a fiendish delight in preying upon the defenseless Saints. They wantonly killed any of their animals they took a fancy to, appropriated and used their horses, and displayed their base natures by insulting women. The people were not allowed to leave the settlement except to procure wood to burn; and, although they had been ordered to vacate the State, they were not permitted to go in search of their horses or cattle to use on the journey.
After locating in Far West, Anson started, on the 23rd of December, 1838, to go to a farm near Elk Horn to make sale of two-thirds of thirty acres of corn which he had raised on shares. He left without knowledge of the mob or "guard," and soon after he arrived at the farm he was taken prisoner by ten armed Missourians who were accompanied by an old negro. They took him into the back part of a store and ordered him to give up his weapons. When told that he had none, they thoroughly searched his person, and, finding that he was defenseless, they threatened and abused him in a most vindictive manner. He controlled his natural inclination to resent their indignities, and submitted to their taunts and abuse, with the result that they gradually grew bolder and apparently felt more safe in continuing it, and after awhile stood their rifles up against the wall, and, seating themselves, engaged in whittling with their bowie knives, at the same time indulging in tantalizing remarks. Their hope evidently was to goad him beyond endurance, when, if he resisted, they would have some excuse for executing summary vengeance upon him. One of their number, James Ogle by name, more bold than the rest, repeatedly struck him in the face, declaring that the "Mormons" had wronged him, and that this defenseless victim must now atone for it. He also proposed to strip him and flog him on the bare back with hickory withes, which proposition was not acted upon, as no one else seemed to favor it. He repeatedly dared Anson to fight with him, and even offered him a knife to defend himself with, but all in vain; Anson bore it all in stolid silence, mentally praying to the Lord in the meantime to restrain his tormentors and not allow them to take his life. After he had endured this treatment more than two hours, Ogle said "It is getting near night, and we must make a finish of this business," whereupon Anson was marched out into the street to the accompaniment of a threat that they would treat him as they said they had treated a "Mormon" some time previously; strip, tie and flog him, and leave him tied until morning. With a view of doing so, the old negro who accompanied the gang was sent off to procure a rope. While awaiting his return Anson was marched up and down the street between two files of his "guard," he appearing as unconcerned as possible, but secretly watching for some opportunity to escape. Seeing a grocery keeper leaning out of a window watching him the thought occurred to him that he might treat his captors and thus gain an advantage. Calling out to the grocer he asked if he would sell him a bottle of whiskey, and when it and a tumbler were passed out to him he invited the "guard" to have a drink at his expense, suggesting that as it was Christmas eve it was an appropriate time for so indulging. The invitation was readily accepted and the fiery liquor was soon gurgling down their throats.
Noticing that a thicket of hazel brush was within a few feet of where he stood, he took advantage of the momentary diversion by dashing into it. The excitement that immediately followed was intense. The whiskey was forgotten in the hasty chase that ensued. Anson proceeded only a short distance into the thicket when he lay down, and was overlooked by the maddened Missourian who charged past him and on into the dense brush, while he skirted around in the edge of the brush and made his way unseen towards Far West.
The circumstances here narrated occurred in the town of Fredricksburg, in Ray County, a settlement just being established in the edge of the woods.
Just before nightfall as he was trudging on towards Far West, he espied the house of a Missourian whose wife was a member of the Church, and where he had preached a number of times the previous summer. He hastened to the house and asked for entertainment, explaining briefly the scenes he had just passed through. The owner of the house feared to have him stay lest the mob might discover his presence and wreak vengeance upon the family. Anson offered to relieve the danger by traveling on, but the good wife insisted upon his eating supper with the family anyway, and afterwards made a bed for him on the kitchen floor with the understanding that if the dogs barked, as they would be sure to do if the mob approached the house, he would run through the open door out into a corn field, and escape if possible to Far West. The night passed without any alarm being heard, the kind wife getting up and preparing breakfast for Anson before daylight. After eating heartily he made his way to Far West, twenty miles distant, where he arrived on Christmas day, 1838.
He found his family feeling well and a hearty welcome and breakfast of parched corn awaiting him, that being the best food available, as the family had missed their turn at getting corn ground at the horse mill.
Anson made an early call upon Father Joseph Smith and Brigham Young for counsel as to whether he should go on horseback to the Three-Forks of Grand river to obtain some property he had left there to help make his family more comfortable therewith. They advised him not to go, as they feared the violence of the mob, into whose hands he would be very likely to fall. After thinking the matter over, he still felt impelled by the necessities of his family to make the attempt, notwithstanding the adverse counsel he had received. He mounted his horse and started, and after a perilous and tiresome journey arrived at his farm on New Years day, and found it in possession of a Missourian named George Washington O'Neil, one of the men from whom he had purchased the place, and who had afterwards decided to take advantage of his misfortunes by robbing him of it. He rode about two miles past his home to the house of a neighbor named Day, whose friendship he presumed upon as he had taken no part with the mob, and as Mrs. Day was a member of the church. Mrs. Day told him of what O'Neil and Culp, the former owners of his farm, had been doing, and warned him that they were likely to kill him if they got a chance to do so. While he was talking to Mrs. Day the two enemies referred to entered the house and immediately began to threaten him, and declared that they would just as soon kill him as if he were a dog, and if they were to do so no one would blame them for it. Anson told them he intended to stand up for his rights as a white man and a citizen, which phrase had a special significance then because of the prevalence of negro slavery in Missouri, but they answered him with jeers, being evidently of the opinion that he had neither friends nor influence in the country. Many of the people in the neighborhood were in debt to Anson for goods he had sold them on time, but he became convinced from the talk of O'Neil and Culp that he would be powerless to collect the accounts, and would only risk his life by trying to do so. With the intention of quitting the region, which fairly reeked with blood-thirsty anti-"Mormonism," he started towards his horse, which was tied only about five rods distant. As he did so he was followed by O'Neil and struck over the head with a heavy hoop pole, and almost felled to the ground. His first impulse was to pick up something with which to defend himself, but he could find nothing, and the blows were repeated with such force that he would probably have been killed but for the fact that he wore a thick cap, which doubtless eased the blows. Mrs. Day's interference appeared to save him from further violence at the time, as his assailants immediately left. She suggested that they had probably gone to get their guns and advised that he mount his horse and hurry along before they returned, which he proceeded to do. His head and face soon began to swell, and he stopped at the first stream he came to and bathed the affected parts, hoping if possible to hide from others the knowledge of his injuries, as he felt compunction at having gone to his old home contrary to counsel. He arrived in Far West about 11 p. m. and immediately went to bed. He awoke early in the morning and immediately arose, but fell to the floor as soon as he tried to walk. His wife, alarmed at his appearance and weakness, insisted upon knowing what was the matter with him, and he had to tell her, but plead with her to keep it from others and promised to remain in bed until he had recovered. She gave him the most devoted attention and in a few days he was again about, looking and feeling not much the worse for his severe treatment.
On the 15th of January, 1839, Lyman Cowdery, the father of Olive, went to the home of Anson Call during his absence and told Mrs. Call that he wished to see her husband at the home of W. W. Phelps the following evening on some special business. When evening came Anson called there according to appointment and met Mr. Cowdery, David Whitmer, Wm. McClellin, Burr Riggs and other apostates. The Prophet Joseph Smith at this time was incarcerated in Liberty jail, and, taking advantage of his absence, these apostates and other enemies were exerting themselves to find some pretext for accusing him of crime. Previous to this a quantity of merchandise belonging to the Church while in transit from Kirtland to Missouri had mysteriously disappeared, and with them some parcels of similar goods that were being transported by the same party for Anson Call. The missing goods were subsequently found by the sheriff of Caldwell County in the home of Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer, when, armed with a search warrant, he went there to look for them. To cast an aspersion against the character of the prophet in connection with these goods, Anson was asked by Lyman Cowdery to sign a confession that he had sworn falsely as to the identity of his goods. As an inducement for him to do so, they claimed to be able to prove that Anson had perjured himself and was liable to a heavy penalty therefor. These plotters, however, offered to secure his immunity if he would do as they wished. Lyman Cowdery's proposition was: "If you will go with me to Richmond to-morrow and state that you did this because Joe told you to, I will then settle the whole matter and let the blame rest where it belongs; for Joe is now where he will not lead anybody into difficulty again, for justice will soon overtake him."
Anson soon gave these traitorous conspirators to understand that they could not use him for any such foul purpose as to blacken the character of Joseph Smith or any other innocent man. He had made no statement but what was true, and he was ready to prove the truth of it by Vincent Knight who assisted him in selecting the goods at a store in Ohio.
The efforts of these men, who had formerly been trusted members of the Church, soon convinced Anson that the Prophet had many enemies who were determined to destroy him, and among them none more bitterly vindictive than some who had formerly been bound to him by the most sacred fraternal ties, but were now ready to betray him to his death.
REMOVAL TO ILLINOIS—A PERILOUS JOURNEY—OVERTAKEN BY THE PROPHET WHILE ESCAPING FROM MISSOURI PRISON—ANSON AND WIFE VISIT IN OHIO—LOCATE IN MACEDONIA—REMOVE TO NAUVOO—MISSION TO OHIO—PROPHET'S VISION AND PREDICTION AS TO SAINTS LOCATING IN WEST—JUDGE THOMAS' ADVICE—SERVICE AS A DELEGATE.
Not long after this a team animal which had been stolen from Anson was found, and this enabled him to remove his family and such of their effects as were left from the State, and they were soon on their way to Illinois. The snow was about a foot deep and the weather extremely cold, it being about the middle of February, 1839, and not at all favorable for travel even if they had been well provided with clothing and bedding, and in their destitute condition their suffering was intense. The first night out their wagon tipped over in the creek and the next day they traversed a bleak prairie in a raging blizzard, during which they almost perished. The Missourians, though ordinarily generous and hospitable, were so embittered against the Saints that they furnished them no supplies or shelter unless paid well therefor, and then they did so grudgingly, and evinced no pity because of their suffering.
One day while traveling towards Warsaw they were overtaken by Joseph and Hyrum Smith, who after more than six months imprisonment in Missouri had made their escape and were on their way to Illinois. They were in such a hurry in consequence of their enemies pursuing them that they took only time for a few hasty words, but inquired where Anson expected to locate, and promised to pay him a visit after they reached their destination. This promise they faithfully kept, in company with Sidney Rigdon and Vincent Knight. They took dinner with the Call family and spent much of the afternoon in relating the circumstances of their escape from Missouri. The prophet also told them that he had purchased a tract of land in Illinois—the same upon which Nauvoo was afterwards built—as a gathering place for the Saints.
In October, 1839, Anson with his wife and youngest child made a trip into Ohio to visit her mother, leaving his two older children in the care of Miss Hannah Flint, Mrs. Call's sister, who had for some time shared the home of the Call family. They returned to Illinois in the Spring of 1840, in company with Chester Loveland and Jeremiah Willey, and soon afterwards Anson and Chester Loveland rented a farm in Carthage, where they were fairly successful, and interspersed their labors on the farm with preaching in the Carthage court house.
In the Spring of 1841 Anson and his family removed to Raymas, afterwards called Macedonia, where he and others purchased an extensive tract of land, upon which a stake of Zion was later organized, of which Anson was one of the High Councilors.
On the 13th of May, 1841, Anson's birthday, his wife give birth to twin boys and afterwards had a long spell of sickness. She was restored to health on being administered to.
In the spring of 1842 Anson moved his family into Nauvoo, having been counseled so to do by the leaders of the Church.
The following September he went upon a mission to the state of Ohio, his companion being B. F. Cummings. While on the way to Ohio they traveled and preached through the states of Illinois and Indiana, and baptized forty persons. They returned to their homes in Nauvoo the last day of March, 1842. The winter had been unusually severe, and even at that time the Ohio, Illinois and Missouri rivers were still frozen over, so that teams could cross on the ice. Anson found his family well, but rather destitute. He spent that season raising a light crop of corn, building a small brick house and quarrying stone for the Temple.
On the 14th of July, 1843, Anson and quite a number of the brethren crossed the Mississippi river to the town of Montrose to be present at the installment of the masonic lodge of the "Rising Sun." They assembled in a block school house in front of which there was ample shade, and had a barrel of ice water to quench their thirst. Judge George J. Adams was the highest masonic authority in the state, and had been sent there to organize the lodge. He, Hyrum Smith and John C. Bennett, being high masons, went into the house to perform certain ceremonies which the others were not entitled to witness. The others, Joseph Smith among them, remained under the bowery. The prophet, as he was testing the cold water warned the brethren not to drink of it too freely, and with the tumbler still in his hand prophesied that the Saints would yet go to the Rocky Mountains and remarked that the water he had just drank of tasted much like the crystal streams that flowed down from the snowcapped mountains, where their future home would be located. Anson, in subsequently describing this incident, said "I had before seen him in vision, and now saw, while he was talking, his countenance changed to white; not the deadly white of a bloodless face, but a living, brilliant white. He seemed absorbed in gazing at something at a great distance and said "I am gazing at the valleys of the mountains." Then the prophet gave a vivid description of the scenery of the mountains and valleys just as many of those who listened to him afterwards learned to know them in reality. Pointing to Shadrach Roundy and others he said "There are some men here who shall do a great work in that land." Pointing to Brother Call, he said "There is Anson; he shall go and shall assist in building cities from one end of the country to the other, and you, (seeming to include in the scope of his remarks many others) shall perform as great a work as has been done by man, so that the nations of the earth shall be astonished, and many of them will be gathered in that land and assist in building cities and temples, and Israel shall be made to rejoice."
Anson, in speaking in the later years of his life of this occasion, said:
"It is impossible to represent in words this scene, which is still vivid in my mind; of the grandeur of Joseph's appearance, his beautiful descriptions of this land and his wonderful prophetic utterances as they emanated from the glorious inspirations that overshadowed him. There was a force and power in his exclamations, of which the following is but a faint echo. "Oh! the beauty of those snow-capped mountains! The cool refreshing streams that are running down through those mountain gorges!" Then gazing in another direction as if there was a change of locality, "Oh! the scenes that this people will pass through! The dead that will lie between here and there!" Then turning in another direction as if the scene had again changed: "Oh! the apostasy that will take place before my brethren reach that land!" But he continued, "The priesthood shall prevail over all its enemies, triumph over the devil and be established upon the earth never more to be thrown down." He then charged us with great force and power to be faithful in those things that had been and should be committed to our charge, with the promise of all the blessings that the priesthood could bestow. "Remember these things and treasure them up, Amen."
During the summer of 1843 the building of the Nauvoo Temple progressed rapidly and the Saints increased. The non-"Mormon" residents of Nauvoo and the surrounding region grew restless and uneasy, and it was evident to the close observer that they were growing jealous and suspicious of the increasing numbers and influence of the "Mormons." The intolerance with which the Missourians had regarded the "Mormons" had seemed to subside for awhile after they located in Nauvoo, but it had only been smoldering and was ready to burst out into a flame again upon the slightest provocation.
On Sunday, June 14, 1844, when the Saints were assembled at their usual place of meeting, in a grove east of the Temple, Judge Thomas, the Circuit Judge of the district, drove up to the stand and asked for an opportunity of speaking with Joseph Smith. The Prophet went out and talked with him about fifteen minutes, during which time the judge explained to him and advise him what to do. Joseph returned to the stand and began to speak. Just then a shower occurred, and he asked the assembly whether they would remain and hear his discourse. The response seemed to be universal: "We will tarry." This was the last discourse delivered by the prophet on the Sabbath. During the meeting the prophet, acting upon the suggestion of Judge Thomas, appointed delegates to visit various precincts of the country to try to effect a settlement with the mob that was threatening to break out in open hostility against the Saints. Anson Call and David Evans were appointed a committee to visit the precinct where Colonel Williams lived, who was an influential leader of the mob. After meeting they started upon this mission and that night lodged with Father Call, five miles from Warsaw. They called at Colonel Williams; house the following morning and learned that he had gone to Adams County to raise the recruits to proceed against the "Mormons." They learned from Elder Knox, a Campbelite preacher, than an anti-"Mormon" committee had been organized in every precinct, that the members of the committee in that precinct were Colonel Williams, himself and a Mr. Henderson. In response to a desire expressed by the visitors to meet that committee, and in the absence of Colonel Williams, Elder Knox proffered to go and bring Mr. Henderson to them. While waiting for his return they were confronted with a mob of about fifty men who came swarming into the house. Among them was a lawyer from Warsaw named Stevenson. Addressing Messrs. Evans and Call, he said, "Gentlemen, you are delegates from Nauvoo, I suppose." Being told that they were, he said the people of Warsaw were also expecting delegates, and had decided to throw them into the Mississippi and make fish bait of them when they appeared. They added by way of advice to the local residents "You can dispose of yours as you think proper." Being informed of the instruction of Judge Thomas to Joseph Smith, he discredited it by saying he had talked with the judge before he went to Nauvoo, and intimated that he did not believe he had so advised; but if he had he thought the judge ought also to be consigned to the Mississippi river. The mob became threatening, but the Campbelite preacher insisted that they must not disturb the "Mormons" while they were doing business with them. For further protection a guard was stationed around the house. After an hour's discussion the assembly refused to act upon the proposition of the delegates in the absence of Colonel Williams. His fellow committeemen guaranteed the safety of the delegates until they could mount their horses, but no longer. They were soon in their saddles and spurring their horses, and reached a safe distance while the mob were preparing to pursue them. Brother Call and Evans arrived in Nauvoo late in the evening of the 15th of June and at 8 o'clock the following morning they repaired to the Mansion House to report to the Prophet; Reynolds Cahoon, the doorkeeper, however, refused to grant them an interview with him, saying that he was busy and did not wish to see any one. Anson after a few moments' stay succeeded in learning what room the Prophet was in and boldly opened the door and walked in. He was greeted in the most cordial manner by the Prophet, who hastened to inquire when he returned and where Brother Evans was. Then he insisted that Brother Evans be admitted, and the two made their report, which they were then requested to reduce to writing and make an affidavit of it before Ebenezer Robinson, justice of the peace. They were then requested to take the sworn statement to Judge Thomas whose court was in session at Knoxville, eighty miles distant. Two of the best horses had to be ordered for them to ride, and before sunset they were on the way. The prophet told them to make all possible haste and to get an interview with the judge if they had to follow him into court by holding on to his coat tail. They left Nauvoo in the evening about sunset. It was raining and the roads were muddy and the streams high. The following day they arrived at a stream that was very high and rapid, and apparently very dangerous. The nature of their errand admitted of no delay, and they plunged in and after a hard struggle succeeded in reaching the opposite shore. They arrived at KNoxville at 10 o'clock on the second day. The court being in session, they presented the letter to the sheriff with a request that he deliver it. He did so, and the judge opened and read it and put it in his pocket. They chafed at the delay and tried to get the sheriff to intercede to have the judge write a reply, but he told them they would have to wait till after intermission. When the court adjourned for luncheon they followed the judge to the hotel and when he arose from the table they locked arms with him, one on either side, and told him they must have an answer to General Smith's letter. He said a written reply was not necessary; it would be sufficient for them to report to him verbally, that he was mistaken in regard to the instructions given him in Nauvoo. They, however, refused to be dismissed in that way, and insisted upon a reply in writing, and he reluctantly consented to write a short note. He allowed the brethren to read it, and as Anson recalled it from memory in his later years it read about as follows: