In order to realize the situation so touchingly described, it must be remembered that in those early days, ere the age of steamships and railways had fairly arrived, a mission to Europe, comparatively easy now, seemed almost like a voyage to another world.
Heber continues:
"At 9 a. m., I bade adieu to my family and friends, and in company with Elders Orson Hyde, Willard Richards, and Priest Joseph Fielding, started without purse or scrip on my mission, this being the first foreign mission of the Church of Christ in the last days. We arrived at Fairport on Lake Erie that afternoon, and about an hour after took passage on a steamboat for Buffalo.
"We were accompanied by Brothers Brigham Young, John P. Greene, Levi Richards, and Sisters Vilate Kimball, Rhoda Green, Mary Fielding, and others, to Fairport. Sister Mary Fielding gave me five dollars, with which I paid my passage and Brother Hyde's to Buffalo; we were also accompanied to Buffalo by R. B. Thompson and wife, who were on their way to Canada, where he intended to labor in the ministry. After a pleasant voyage we reached Buffalo the next day, where we expected to receive some funds from Canada to assist us on our journey, but were disappointed, as Brothers Goodson, Russell and Snyder did not meet us there according to promise.
"From Buffalo we went down by the canal towards Lyonstown. While walking on its bank I found an iron ring about one and one-fourth inches in diameter, which I presented to Elder Richards, saying, 'I will make you a present of this; keep it in remembrance of me; for our friendship shall be as endless as this ring.' We had but very little means, but determined to prosecute our journey, believing that the Lord would open our way. We accordingly took passage in a line boat on the Erie Canal to Utica, a distance of 250 miles; from thence on the railroad to Albany, where our party divided.
"From Albany I went with Brother Richards about 30 miles, to his father's, in Richmond, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, where we arrived on the 20th, and obtained forty dollars from his brother William which he was owing to him. This enabled us to prosecute our journey. We bade them a last farewell, as Willard's father and mother and sister died a short time afterwards. The next day we returned to Albany and took passage in a steamboat to New York, where we arrived on the evening of June 22nd, and again met Orson Hyde and Joseph Fielding. We also met with Brothers John Goodson, Isaac Russell and John Snyder, who had come by the way of Canada to join the mission.
"We found a vessel ready to sail, but not having sufficient means, we were obliged to wait until we could obtain funds to pay our passage, and procure an outfit for the voyage. We found Elder Elijah Fordham, the only member of the Church in that city, who having no house of his own, we lodged at Mrs. Fordham's, Elijah's sister-in-law. Being short of funds, we hired a small room in an unfinished store-house of Brother Fordham's father, who was very wealthy, as he owned many storehouses and buildings, but never invited us into his house to sleep or eat, though he did invite us to assist him two days in raising a building, as a compensation for lying on his store-house floor.
"Brother Fordham seemed to be mute in relation to Mormonism. I told him if he was faithful and remained in New York, there would be a branch of the Church raised up before we returned.
"Sunday, 25th, we fasted, prayed, administered the sacrament, held council for the success of the mission, and had a joyful time. In the afternoon two sectarian priests came in, to find fault, but they were soon confounded, and left.
"On the 28th we deposited 180 of Orson Hyde's "Timely Warnings," in the New York post office, addressed to the priests and ministers of different denominations in the city. We also distributed many to the citizens, and at the same time conversed with them on the subject of the Gospel. Our sojourn in the city opened the door for Brothers Parley and Orson Pratt to introduce the Gospel there. Many persons who subsequently came into the Church have referred to the "Timely Warnings" which they had read. We spent considerable time in prayer to our Heavenly Father for His guidance and protection; to make our way plain before us; to bless us with a prosperous voyage across the mighty ocean; make us a blessing to each other, and the captain and crew with whom we should sail.
"In New York we were subject to many inconveniences; had to lay amid straw and blankets upon the ground; to buy our victuals; yet we did not feel discouraged; believing that the Lord would open up our way and guide us to our destination.
"Brother Fordham made me a present of ten dollars, and concluded to accompany us on our mission, but upon mature consideration, we thought it best for him to stay there; believing that the Lord had a people in that city, and that there would be a church built up there before our return.
"Having obtained sufficient money to pay our passage across theAtlantic, eighteen dollars each, we laid in a stock of provisions, andwent on board the new packet shipGarrick, of 900 tons, bound forLiverpool."
"Adieu, adieu, my native shoreFades o'er the waters blue;The night-winds sigh, the breakers roar,And shrieks the wild sea-mew.Yon sun that sets upon the seaWe follow in his flight;Farewell, awhile, to him and thee,My native land—Good night!"
At ten o'clock on the morning of July 1st, 1837, theGarrickweighed anchor, and, being towed down the river by a steamer as far as Sandy Hook, set sail oceanward. A few hours later Heber lost sight of his native land. Say he:
"I had feelings which I cannot describe, when I could no longer behold its shores, and when I bade adieu to the land of my birth, I felt to exclaim:
'Yes, my native land, I love thee:All thy scenes I love them well:Friends, connections, happy country,Can I bid you all farewell?Can I leave you,Far in distant lands to dwell?'
"However, when I reflected on the causes which had induced me to leave it for awhile, and the work which depended upon me, I could likewise say:
"I go, but not to plough the main,To ease a restless mind."
"I was actuated by a different motive than either to please myself, or gain the riches and applause of the world; it was a higher consideration than these that induced me to leave my home. It was because a dispensation of the Gospel had been committed to me; and I felt an ardent desire that my fellow creatures in other lands might hear the sound of the everlasting Gospel, obey its requisitions, rejoice in the fullness and blessings thereof, and escape the judgments which will come upon the ungodly."
Only souls where sentiment and feeling dwell, who have been upon the mighty waters, floating like an insect on a leaf amid the immensity of the liquid waste, can realize that awful loneliness, that sense of helplessness and utter dependency upon a power superior to man's. Atheism, thy home is not the boundless deep! Ocean, thou art religious, thou art worshipful, and throwest heavenward the thoughts of man as though they were thy spray!
Especially was it so with Heber and his companions, God-fearing men, upon whom rested the burden of a mission fraught with salvation to thousands. The solemnities of eternity encompassed them. They felt as little children in the presence of the Infinite. And children they were in their humility. Not in their own strength went they forth, but in the strength of Him who made the seas, and who holdeth their waters in the hollow of His hand.
"Angels shall accompany thee and bear thee up!"
Were they not even now upon the vessel, in mid-ocean, guiding it unerringly toward its destiny? Aye, lest at any time that fated bark should "dash its foot against a stone."
"While crossing the sea," says Heber, "I dreamed that the Prophet Joseph came to me while I was standing upon the forecastle of the ship, and said, 'Brother Heber, here is a rod (putting it into my hands), with which you are to guide the ship. While you hold this rod you shall prosper, and there shall be no obstacles thrown before you but what you shall have power to overcome, and the hand of God shall be with you.' After this I discovered every kind of obstruction was placed before the ship to stop its progress; but the bow being sharp, the obstacles were compelled to move out on either side; and when the ship would come to a mountain, it would plow its course straight through, as though it was in water. This rod which Joseph gave me was about three and a half feet in length. His appearance was just as natural as I ever beheld him in the flesh. He blessed me and disappeared."
It is a singular fact that during fifty years, the period covered by the history of Mormon emigration from the nations abroad, not a ship-load of Latter-day Saints, not a vessel bearing the Elders of Israel to or from foreign shores, has ever been lost at sea. Even rough captains and sailors have learned to regard this with feelings akin to reverential awe, and to accept as a good omen, an assurance of a safe and prosperous voyage, the presence of Mormon Elders or emigrants among their ship's passengers.
In such a light, Heber's dream of Joseph and the rod wherewith he was to "guide the ship," takes on added interest and significance.
Remarkable, too, that this same ship, theGarrick, now on its first voyage, after twice ploughing the Atlantic with Apostles Kimball and Hyde on board—for on this vessel they returned to America—was doomed, on almost its very next voyage, to go down at sea, in the year 1841.
Heber continues his narrative:
"During the voyage we were hailed by a large vessel throwing up a signal of distress. Our captain hauled to, and with his speaking trumpet enquired what was wanted. The answer was, 'we are bound for Quebec, but are lost, having lost our reckoning.' Our captain took an observation, and through his speaking trumpet gave them the latitude and longitude, and the course for them to steer, showing them that they were about a thousand miles from the American shore. They replied that they thought they were close to the shore and were afraid of running on the reefs for several days past. This reminded me that when a person has lost his course, or is out of the way, it is necessary to apply to the Lord, through a Prophet, Seer and Revelator, to put him right.
"Our passage was very agreeable, the winds for the most part being favorable. On the banks of Newfoundland we saw several large fish, called by some, whales, and by others, finners; also many porpoises and different species of fish. We were kindly treated by the officers and crew; their conduct was indeed praiseworthy. Had we been their own relatives, they could not have behaved more kindly, or treated us better. Thus the Lord answered our prayers, for which I desire to praise His holy name.
"The Lord also gave us favor in the eyes of the passengers, who treated us with the greatest respect. During the voyage, a child belonging to one of the passengers was very sick, and given up by the doctor to die; consequently its parents had given up all hopes of its recovery, and expected to have to commit their little one to the ocean. Feeling a great anxiety for the child, I went to its parents and reasoned with them, and laid before them the principle of faith, and told them that the Lord was able to restore their child, notwithstanding there was no earthly prospect of its recovery. To which they listened with great interest. Shortly after, having an opportunity to secretly lay hands upon the child, I did so, and in the name of Jesus Christ rebuked the disease which preyed upon its system. The spirit of the Lord attended the administration, and from that time the child began to recover, and in two or three days after it was running about, perfectly well. Afterwards I informed the parents that I had laid hands on their child, and they acknowledged that it was healed by the power of the Almighty.
"Our health, while on the water, was good, with the exception ofBrothers Richards and Fielding, who were sick a day or two.
"Sunday, July 16th, I went to the captain and asked the privilege for one of us to preach on board. He very obligingly agreed, and appointed 1 o'clock, p. m., when it would be most suitable for himself and the crew to attend. I requested Elder Hyde to speak, and notified the captain, crew and passengers of the intended meeting for preaching on the aft quarter deck. At the time appointed there was a congregation of between two and three hundred persons assembled, who listened, with great attention and deep interest, to the discourse. I think I never heard Brother Hyde speak with such power and eloquence. He spoke on the subject of the resurrection, which was necessarily condensed, the time being limited on account of the duties of the crew. The congregation was composed of persons of different faiths, and from different nations, English, Irish, Scotch, French Germans, etc.,—both Jews and Christians. A great feeling was produced upon the minds of the assembly, who had never heard the subject treated in like manner before; and from the conversation we had afterwards with several of them, I believe that good was done. The congregation appointed a committee who came to us and returned thanks for the favor conferred on them.
"On the 18th, the captain sent a man up to the masthead to look for land. He had not been up long before he cried out, "land," which was the Irish shore. It caused joy and gratitude to arise in my bosom to my heavenly Father for the favorable passage so far, and the prospect of soon reaching our destination. We sailed up the Irish Channel, having Ireland on our left and Wales on our right. The scenery was very beautiful and imposing.
"At daybreak, on July 20th, we arrived in the river Mersey, opposite Liverpool, being eighteen days and eighteen hours from our departure from the anchorage at New York. The packet shipSouth America, which left New York at the same time we did, came in a few lengths behind, thus losing a wager of ten thousand dollars which had been made the day of starting. She had been seen daily during the voyage, but never passed us. The sight was very interesting to see these two vessels enter port with every inch of canvas spread.
"When we first sighted Liverpool I went to the side of the vessel and poured out my soul in praise and thanksgiving to God for the prosperous voyage, and for all the mercies which He had vouchsafed to me, and while thus engaged, and contemplating the scene presented to my view, the spirit of the Lord rested down upon me in a powerful manner, and my soul was filled with love and gratitude. I felt humble, while I covenanted to dedicate myself to God, and to love and serve Him with all my heart.
"Immediately after we anchored, a small boat came along-side, when several of the passengers, with Brothers Hyde, Richards, Goodson and myself got in and went to shore. When we were within six or seven feet of the pier, I leaped on shore, followed by Elders Hyde and Richards, and for the first time in my life I stood on British ground, among strangers, whose manners and customs were different from my own. My feelings at that time were peculiar, particularly when I realized the importance and extent of my mission; the work to which I had been appointed and in which I was shortly to be engaged. However, I put my trust in God, believing that He would assist me in publishing the truth, give me utterance, and be a present help in time of need.
"Elders Hyde, Richards, and myself, being without purse or scrip, wandered in the streets of Liverpool, where wealth and luxury abound, side by side with penury and want. I there met the rich attired in the most costly dresses, and the next minute was saluted with the cries of the poor with scarce covering sufficient to screen them from the weather. Such a wide distinction I never saw before. Looking for a place to lodge in, we found a room belonging to a widow in Union Street, which we engaged for a few days."
After landing on this foreign shore, Heber's mind for a season was overshadowed with gloom. Among strangers and without money—for he had not a penny in his pocket—and reflecting on the wretched state of affairs in far away Kirtland, where the Prophet of God, whom he loved as his own soul, was surrounded by enemies, and his own family in lowly circumstances in the midst of persecution, his spirits were much depressed. It was then that he had the following night vision. Says he:
"I was in a great water, swimming, and had swam away, trying to make land, although I saw no land, until I had become weary and tired, when I began to sink; then an angel came to me and placed his hand under my chin, for some time keeping me from sinking, until I had rested and gained strength; he blessed me and said, 'Brother Heber, you shall now have strength to swim ashore.' I again began to swim, and it appeared as though every time I stretched forth my arms and feet, I would move rods at each stroke, and continued doing so until I reached land."
This dream, coming as such dreams generally do, in a season of deep depression, was as a spring of pure water in the desert to the parched lips of the weary traveler. As a promise of success, it was amply verified in the subsequent experience of the father and founder of the British mission. "Rods at a stroke" is indeed a strikingly appropriate figure, illustrating the labors in the vineyard of this faithful and mighty servant of the Lord.
"The time we were in Liverpool," he continues, "was spent in council, and in calling on the Lord for direction. While thus engaged, the Spirit of the Lord was with us and we felt greatly strengthened. Our trust was in God, who could make us as useful in bringing down the kingdom of Satan, as He did the ram's horns in bringing down the walls of Jericho; and in gathering out a number of precious souls, who were buried amid the rubbish of tradition, and who had no one to show them the way of truth."
"Go to Preston," said the Spirit of the Lord, and to Preston they went accordingly. The place indicated was a large manufacturing town in Lancashire, thirty-one miles from Liverpool. They arrived there about four o'clock in the afternoon of July 22nd.
It was election day in Preston. Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, who had ascended the throne just three days before the landing of the Elders on her dominions, had ordered a general election for members of Parliament. In the very midst of this busy and interesting scene, Heber and his companions alighted from the coach. He thus describes the spectacle:
"I never witnessed anything like it in my life. Bands of music playing. Flags flying in all directions. Thousands of men, women and children parading the streets, decked with ribbons characteristic of the politics of the several candidates. Anyone accustomed to the peaceable and quiet manner in which the elections in America are conducted, can scarcely have any idea of an election as carried on in England. One of the flags was unrolled before us, nearly over our heads, the moment the coach reached its destination, having on it the following motto: 'TRUTH WILL PREVAIL,' in large gilt letters. It being so very seasonable, and the sentiment being so very appropriate to us in our situation, we cried aloud, 'Amen! Thanks be to God, TRUTH WILL PREVAIL!'"
The Elders took a room in Wilfred Street, in a house belonging to a widow. Joseph Fielding, in the meantime, went in quest of his brother, the Reverend James Fielding, who was pastor of a church in Preston. Returning shortly, he was the bearer of a polite message from the reverend gentleman, inviting the Elders to visit him that evening. Accordingly, Apostles Kimball and Hyde and Elder Goodson went, and were kindly received by Mr. Fielding and his brother-in-law, Mr. Watson, a minister from Bedford. They conversed upon the subject of the Gospel until a late hour. Next morning the Elders received from Mrs. Watson a slight testimonial of her appreciation of their visit, in the shape of a half crown piece.
The Reverend James Fielding, who was destined to be an instrument of Providence for the establishment of Mormonism in Preston—its first foreign foothold—was a brother to Miss Mary Fielding, the same who, with others, accompanied Heber from Kirtland to Fairport, when he started on his mission to England. She subsequently became the wife of Hyrum Smith, the martyr, and mother of Joseph F. Smith, the Apostle.
At this juncture, it will be well to refer to an extraordinary prophecy of Heber C. Kimball's, uttered in the spring of 1836, which connects itself in an interesting manner with the mission he was now about to fulfill. Apostle Parley P. Pratt, over whom the prediction was made, narrates the incident as follows:
"It was now April; I had retired to rest one evening at an early hour, and was pondering my future course, when there came a knock at the door. I arose and opened it, when Elder Heber C. Kimball and others entered my house, and being filled with the spirit of prophecy, they blessed me and my wife, and he prophesied as follows:
"'Brother Parley, thy wife shall be healed from this hour, and shall bear a son, and his name shall be Parley; and he shall be a chosen instrument in the hands of the Lord to inherit the Priesthood and to walk in the steps of his father. He shall do a great work in the earth in ministering the word and teaching the children of men. Arise, therefore, and go forth in the ministry, nothing doubting. Take no thought for your debts, nor the necessaries of life, for the Lord will supply you with abundant means for all things.
"'Thou shalt go to Upper Canada, even to the city of Toronto, the capital, and there thou shalt find a people prepared for the fullness of the gospel, and they shall receive thee, and thou shalt organize the Church among them, and it shall spread thence into the regions round about, and many shall be brought to the knowledge of the truth and shall be filled with joy; and from the things growing out of this mission shall the fullness of the Gospel spread into England, and cause a great work to be done in that land.'
"This prophecy was the more marvelous because, being married near ten years, we had never had any children; and for near six years my wife had been consumptive, and had been considered incurable. However, we called to mind the faith of Abraham of old, and judging him faithful who had promised, we took courage."
Both these prophecies, the one relating to the birth of his son, and the other to his Canadian mission, were literally and marvelously fulfilled. Parley P. Pratt, jun., was born March 25th, 1837, eleven months after the event was thus foretold. Among the "people prepared for the fullness of the Gospel" whom Parley the Apostle found "in the city of Toronto," in strict accordance with Heber's inspired words, was John Taylor, afterwards an Apostle and the President of the Church, and a powerful champion of Mormonism in the British Isles; also Joseph Fielding, Heber's fellow missionary, and his sisters, Mary and Mercy, who had lately emigrated from England. The Fieldings of Canada wrote to their reverend brother in Preston an account of the rise and progress of the latter-day work, and thus prepared him for the advent of the Elders upon British shores. He, in turn, told his congregation and exhorted them to pray to the Lord to send His servants unto them. Obedient to his counsel, the worthiest and most pious members of his flock commenced praying for the coming of the Elders from America. Their faith shook the heavens, and in dreams and visions many were shown the very men whom the Lord was about to send into their midst. Heber C. Kimball, especially, on his arrival in Preston was recognized by persons who had never until then beheld him in the flesh.
Thus, "from things growing out of this mission" to Canada, had the fullness of the Gospel "spread into England," according to Heber's prediction. Thus, like Parley in the city of Toronto, had Heber found in Preston, souls who were prepared to receive his message. The angels of God had been before him, and left their foot-prints upon the people's hearts.
The day after their arrival in Preston, being the Sabbath, the brethren, on the invitation of Mr. Fielding, repaired to Vauxhall Chapel, where he held forth from his own pulpit. "We sat before him," says Heber, "praying to the Lord to open up the way for us to preach." At the close of the service, the reverend gentleman, of his own accord—for no one had requested it—gave notice that an Elder of the Latter-day Saints would preach in his chapel at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. The news spread rapidly, and a large congregation assembled at the appointed hour, to hear the Elders from America.
The first speaker was Heber C. Kimball. Says he: "I declared that an angel had visited the earth, and committed the everlasting Gospel to man; called their attention to the first principles of the Gospel; and gave them a brief history of the nature of the work which the Lord had commenced on the earth; after which Elder Hyde bore testimony to the same, which was received by many with whom I afterwards conversed; they cried 'glory to God,' and rejoiced that the Lord had sent His servants unto them. Thus was the key turned and the Gospel dispensation opened on the first Sabbath after landing in England."
Another appointment was given out for the brethren in the evening, when Elder Goodson preached, and Joseph Fielding bore testimony, and still another for the Wednesday night following, when Apostle Hyde held forth and Elder Richards added his testimony. The chapel was filled to overflowing, and many were "pricked in their hearts," being convinced of the truth, "and began to praise God and rejoice exceedingly."
Thus was the first opening made for the preaching of the Gospel in theBritish Isles and on the continent of Europe. Thus it was—to use theReverend Fielding's famous phrase—that "Kimball bored the holes,Goodson drove the nails, and Hyde clinched them."
Meanwhile, the powers of darkness had taken counsel against these servants of the Lord. Not without a struggle would Satan loose his hold, and permit the gates of salvation to open for the eastern, as they had already opened for the western hemisphere. The evil one had seen that the Church in America was trembling on the verge of dissolution. To give it fresh impetus, and infuse new life into the seemingly sinking system, was the object of the Apostles' mission to the shores of Albion. The opening of that mission it was Satan's fell purpose to thwart, and for which he was now gathering, far and near, the embattled hosts of hell.
The Elders might be said to have "stolen a march" on the Adversary, in securing, already, three hearings at Vauxhall Chapel, with the favorable results before noted. This much could not be retrieved, but the enemy of righteousness hoped to prevent a repetition of such scenes, and to hinder those who believed, from obeying the Gospel by going down into the waters of baptism. For know, O reader—if thou art a stranger to this truth—that Satan is well satisfied with their condition who "only believe" in Jesus, if they are not "born of the water" according to His righteous example and holy will.
[Illustration: Vauxhall Chapel, 1875.]
Acting on the principle, it may be presumed, that a thing to be recovered should first be sought for where it was lost, the evil one determined to use for his purpose the Reverend James Fielding, the very man who had befriended the Elders, and given them their first public opportunity of declaring the message they had been sent to deliver. Strange enough after what had passed—though sufficiently frequent, in similar phases, since those days, to be no longer a cause of wonderment—he found that reverend gentleman in precisely the mood best suited to his dark design. Like all who fear man more than they love the Lord, preferring the praise and honors of the world to the approval of a good conscience and the favor of their Maker, the Reverend James Fielding, when he had noticed the marvelous effect of the Elders' preaching, and contemplated the present and prospective results, in the leading away of his flock to drink at other fountains and browse in other pastures, shrank back appalled from the picture presented to his view. Willing to sate his appetite for the new and marvelous, and even obey a doctrine which promised worldly honors and emoluments, he was not willing to humble himself "even as a little child" and seek the kingdom of God at the sacrifice of every earthly consideration.
Had he forgotten the text which, perchance, he had a hundred times preached glibly from: "He that taketh not his cross and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me"? Or, like many other Christian divines, "having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof," was he satisfied to believe that those words had lost their meaning for this generation? Be it as it may, here is the record that will meet him at the day of judgment:
"The Rev. James Fielding, who had so kindly invited us to preach in his chapel, learning that a number of his members believed our testimony, and that some had requested to be baptized, shut his doors against us and would not suffer us to preach in his chapel any more; alleging for an excuse that we had preached the doctrine of baptism for the remission of sins, contrary to our arrangement with him.
"I need scarcely assure my friends that nothing was said to him from which any inference could be drawn that we should suppress the doctrine of baptism. We deem it too important a doctrine to lay aside for any privilege we could receive from mortals. Mr. Fielding had been apprised of our doctrines before we saw him, having received several communications from his brother Joseph, and his two sisters, Mary and Mercy, who wrote to him from Canada, in which letters our doctrines were clearly laid down. We likewise conversed with him on the subject at our interview. He, having been traditioned to believe in infant baptism, and having preached and practised the same a number of years, saw the situation he would be placed in if he obeyed the Gospel; that notwithstanding his talents and standing in society, he would have to come into the sheepfold by the door, and after all his preaching to others, have to be baptized himself for the remission of sins by those who were ordained to that power. These considerations no doubt had their weight upon his mind, which caused him to act as he did; and notwithstanding his former kindness he soon became one of our most violent opposers.
"However, his congregation did not follow his example, they having some time been praying for our coming, and having been assured by Mr. Fielding that he could not place more confidence in an angel than he did in the statements of his brother Joseph, respecting this people; consequently they were in a great measure prepared for the reception of the Gospel, probably as much so as Cornelius was anciently.
"Having now no public place to preach in, we began to preach at night in private houses, which were opened in every direction, when numbers came to hear and believed the Gospel."
Thus was Satan unsuccessful in stopping the spread of the work. The smoking flax was bursting into flame, and all his efforts could not quench it. Chapels and churches he might close, for of them he held the keys, but the hearts of the humble and pure were in God's keeping, and to these sacred temples His servants had ready access.
Then came the stroke climacteric; thedernier ressortof satanic hostility.
"Saturday evening," says Heber C. Kimball, "it was agreed that I should go forward and baptize, the next morning, in the river Ribble, which runs through Preston.
"By this time the adversary of souls began to rage, and he felt determined to destroy us before we had fully established the kingdom of God in that land, and the next morning I witnessed a scene of satanic power and influence which I shall never forget.
"Sunday, July 30th, about daybreak, Elder Isaac Russell (who had been appointed to preach on the obelisk in Preston Square, that day,) who slept with Elder Richards in Wilfred Street, came up to the third story, where Elder Hyde and myself were sleeping, and called out, 'Brother Kimball, I want you should get up and pray for me that I may be delivered from the evil spirits that are tormenting me to such a degree that I feel I cannot live long, unless I obtain relief.'
"I had been sleeping on the back of the bed. I immediately arose, slipped off at the foot of the bed, and passed round to where he was. Elder Hyde threw his feet out, and sat up in the bed, and we laid hands on him, I being mouth, and prayed that the Lord would have mercy on him, and rebuked the devil.
"While thus engaged, I was struck with great force by some invisible power, and fell senseless on the floor. The first thing I recollected was being supported by Elders Hyde and Richards, who were praying for me; Elder Richards having followed Russell up to my room. Elders Hyde and Richards then assisted me to get on the bed, but my agony was so great I could not endure it, and I arose, bowed my knees and prayed. I then arose and sat up on the bed, when a vision was opened to our minds, and we could distinctly see the evil spirits, who foamed and gnashed their teeth at us. We gazed upon them about an hour and a half (by Willard's watch). We were not looking towards the window, but towards the wall. Space appeared before us, and we saw the devils coming in legions, with their leaders, who came within a few feet of us. They came towards us like armies rushing to battle. They appeared to be men of full stature, possessing every form and feature of men in the flesh, who were angry and desperate; and I shall never forget the vindictive malignity depicted on their countenances as they looked me in the eye; and any attempt to paint the scene which then presented itself, or portray their malice and enmity, would be vain. I perspired exceedingly, my clothes becoming as wet as if I had been taken out of the river. I felt excessive pain, and was in the greatest distress for some time. I cannot even look back on the scene without feelings of horror; yet by it I learned the power of the adversary, his enmity against the servants of God, and got some understanding of the invisible world. We distinctly heard those spirits talk and express their wrath and hellish designs against us. However, the Lord delivered us from them, and blessed us exceedingly that day."
Elder Hyde's supplemental description of that fearful scene is as follows, taken from a letter addressed to President Kimball:
"Every circumstance that occurred at that scene of devils is just as fresh in my recollection at this moment as it was at the moment of its occurrence, and will ever remain so. After you were overcome by them and had fallen, their awful rush upon me with knives, threats imprecations and hellish grins, amply convinced me that they were no friends of mine. While you were apparently senseless and lifeless on the floor and upon the bed (after we had laid you there), I stood between you and the devils and fought them and contended with them face to face, until they began to diminish in number and to retreat from the room. The last imp that left turned round to me as he was going out and said, as if to apologize, and appease my determined opposition to them, 'I never said anything against you!' I replied to him thus: 'It matters not to me whether you have or have not; you are a liar from the beginning! In the name of Jesus Christ, depart! He immediately left, and the room was clear. That closed the scene of devils for that time."
Years later, narrating the experience of that awful morning to the Prophet Joseph, Heber asked him what it all meant, and whether there was anything wrong with him that he should have such a manifestation.
"No, Brother Heber," he replied, "at that time you were nigh unto the Lord; there was only a veil between you and Him, but you could not see Him. When I heard of it, it gave me great joy, for I then knew that the work of God had taken root in that land. It was this that caused the devil to make a struggle to kill you."
Joseph then related some of his own experience, in many contests he had had with the evil one, and said: "The nearer a person approaches the Lord, a greater power will be manifested by the adversary to prevent the accomplishment of His purposes."
An answer this, for the unbelieving and sophistical, who argue, with the shallow reasoning of Job's comforters, that they have sinned most who suffer most, and are ever ready to ascribe spiritual manifestations, good or evil, to madness, drunkenness or imbecility. It is needful, we are told, to experience opposites, to be enabled to choose intelligently between them; and to those who have this experience, and who "take the Holy Spirit for their guide," the way to judge is as plain "as the daylight from the dark night."
'Tis Contrast sways unceasing sceptreO'er vast Appreciation's realm;E'en Gods, through sacrifice descending,Triumphant rise to overwhelm.
So was it with the Apostles and Elders in Preston, after their terrible encounter with the powers of evil, at Sunday day-break, July 30th, 1837. The Spirit of the Lord, with peace and joy that "passeth understanding," dawned with the Sabbath sun upon their souls. They had tasted of the bitter, and would thenceforth more fully know the sweet; encompassed about by "the horror of darkness," they hailed with ecstacy till then unknown, the glory of the golden morn.
The Reverend James Fielding, finding, notwithstanding his opposition, that the Elders prospered in their labors, and were preparing to lead into the waters of baptism a number of his flock who had applied to them for that privilege, wrought himself into "a fine frenzy." He had even been to the Elders' lodgings, and, confronting Apostle Kimball, forbidden him to baptize them.
"They are of age," answered Heber, "and can act for themselves; I shall baptize all who come unto me, asking no favors of any man."
"On hearing this," he adds, "Mr. Fielding trembled and shook as though he had a chill."
"They are of age and can act for themselves." A similar answer to that given, nearly half a century later, by the greatest of England's living statesmen, when asked by the representative of "the freest government on earth," to aid in the suppression of Mormon emigration from Europe. An answer worthy of "the grand old man," as it was worthy of the grand Apostle, Heber C. Kimball, and in consonance with the spirit of liberty, the genius of the Gospel, and that sublime Mormon doctrine, the free agency of man.
The destruction of human agency is Satan's peculiar mission; a doctrine of devils from the beginning, it will be so unto the end. Force can never win in a controversy involving the conscience, or soul of man. "It may compel the body, but it cannot convince the mind." Thought is forever unfettered; as free to the Siberian serf, as to Columbia's proudest son, or the monarch on his throne. Freedom to believe, man cannot give; the right to act, where action injures no one, he cannot in justice take away. They who do so follow after Lucifer, who rebelled against God, and was hurled with his doctrine of tyranny from heaven's battlements, drawing down to perdition a third of its spirit hosts, "because of their agency;" the very eternal principle he had vainly sought to destroy.
The Prophet Joseph, speaking of the power of the Priesthood, the power which governs and controls all things, says:
"No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the Priesthood, only by persuasion, by long suffering, by gentleness, and meekness, and by love unfeigned.
"When we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control, or dominion, or compulsion, upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the Priesthood, or the authority of that man."
A sublime enunciation, worthy the inspired mind of an American Prophet, cradled in the lap of liberty, and born to bring truth to light. Thine was a noble thought, Bartholdi, noble though only half expressed. Not liberty alone, not truth alone, but truth and liberty, Liberty with Truth, shall yet "enlighten the world."
Referring to the morning of his contest with the demons, ApostleKimball says:
"Notwithstanding the weakness of my body from the shock I had experienced, I had the pleasure, about 9 a.m., of baptizing nine individuals and hailing them brethren and sisters in the kingdom of God. These were the first persons baptized into the Church in a foreign land, and only the eighth day after our arrival in Preston."
"A circumstance took place which I cannot refrain from mentioning, for it will show the eagerness and anxiety of some in that land to obey the Gospel. Two of the male candidates, when they had changed their clothes at a distance of several rods from the place where I was standing in the water, were so anxious to obey the Gospel that they ran with all their might to the water, each wishing to be baptized first. The younger, George D. Watt, being quicker of foot than the elder, outran him, and came first into the water."
"The circumstance of baptizing in the open air being somewhat novel, a concourse of between seven and nine thousand persons assembled on the banks of the river to witness the ceremony. It was the first time baptism by immersion was administered openly, as the Baptists in that country generally have a font in their chapels, and perform the ordinance privately."
"In the afternoon Elder Russell preached in the market place to a congregation of about five thousand persons, numbers of whom were pricked to the heart.
"I had visited Thomas Walmesley's house, whose wife was sick of the consumption and had been for several years; she was reduced to skin and bones, a mere skeleton; and was given up to die by the doctors. I preached the Gospel to her, and promised her in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ if she would believe, repent and be baptized, she should be healed of her sickness. She was carried to the water, and after her baptism began to amend, and at her confirmation she was blest, and her disease rebuked, when she immediately recovered, and in less than one week after she was attending to her household duties."
Sister Walmesley, the subject of this episode, is still living. She resides in Bear Lake County, Idaho, and though far advanced in years, at last accounts was hale and hearty.
Thus was a miracle wrought that day, and nine souls initiated into the kingdom of God; the first fruits of the Gospel in a foreign land. The names of those baptized were George D. Watt, — Miller, Thomas Walmesley, Ann Elizabeth Walmesley, Miles Hodgen, George Wate, Henry Billsbury, Mary Ann Brown and Ann Dawson.
Having gained a foothold in Preston, and lifted the ensign of the latter-day work, around which the ransomed of the Lord were beginning to rally, the Elders decided to separate and carry the Gospel into other counties. They met in council the day after the first baptisms in the River Ribble, and "continued in fasting and prayer, praise and thanksgiving until two o'clock in the morning." Elders Richards and Goodson were appointed to go on a mission to the city of Bedford, and Brothers Russell and Snyder to Alston, in Cumberland. Apostles Kimball and Hyde, with Priest Fielding, were to remain and labor in and around Preston. A day or two later the brethren departed for their fields of labor.
The second important step in the founding of the British mission was now taken.
"On Wednesday, August 2nd," says Elder Kimball, "Miss Jennetta Richards, a young lady, the daughter of a minister of the Independent Order, who resided at Walkerfold, about fifteen miles from Preston, came to the house of Thomas Walmesley, with whom she was acquainted. Calling in to see them at the time she was there, I was introduced to her, and we immediately entered into conversation on the subject of the Gospel. I found her very intelligent. She seemed very desirous to hear the things I had to teach and to understand the doctrines of the gospel. I informed her of my appointment to preach that evening, and invited her to attend. She did so; and likewise the evening following. After attending these two services she was fully convinced of the truth.
"Friday morning, 4th, she sent for me, desiring to be baptized, which request I cheerfully complied with, in the river Ribble, and confirmed her at the water side, Elder Hyde assisting. This was the first confirmation in England. The following day she started for home, and wept as she was about to leave us. I said to her, 'Sister, be of good cheer, for the Lord will soften the heart of thy father, that I will yet have the privilege of preaching in his chapel, and it shall result in a great opening to preach the Gospel in that region.' I exhorted her to pray and be humble. She requested me to pray for her, and gave me some encouragement to expect that her father would open his chapel for me to preach in. I then hastened to my brethren, told them of the circumstances and the result of my visit with the young lady, and called upon them to unite with me in prayer that the Lord would soften the heart of her father, that he might be induced to open his chapel for us to preach in."
While awaiting the issue of this event, the brethren continued their ministerial labors. The record resumes:
"Sunday, 6th, Elder Hyde preached in the marketplace to a numerous assemblage, both rich and poor, who flocked from all parts 'to hear what these dippers had to say.' After he was through with his discourse I gave an exhortation, and when I had concluded a learned minister stepped forth to oppose the doctrines we advanced, but more particularly the doctrine of baptism, he being a great stickler for infant baptism. The people thinking that he intended to offend us, would not let him proceed, but seemed determined to put him down, and undoubtedly would have done so had not Brother Hyde interposed and begged permission for the gentleman to speak; telling the congregation that he was prepared to meet any arguments he might advance. This appeased the people, who listened to the remarks of the reverend gentleman, after which Brother Hyde spoke in answer to the objections which had been offered, to the satisfaction of nearly all present, and the minister appeared somewhat ashamed. Some of the people hissed at him and told him not to do the like again. One individual came up and asked him what he now thought of his baby baptism; when another took him by the hand and led him out of the throng."
It was now deemed advisable to confirm all who had been baptized and organize them into a branch, twenty-eight persons having been baptized in Preston, but only one confirmed. The converts were accordingly requested to meet at the house of Sister Ann Dawson, where the Elders had their lodgings. It was the evening of the third Sabbath they had spent in England. The meeting having convened, after some preliminary remarks by the Elders, they confirmed twenty-seven members and organized the Preston branch, the first branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in a foreign land. While attending to these sacred duties, the Spirit of the Lord was poured out upon them in a powerful manner, causing them to rejoice exceedingly.
And now came the fulfillment of Heber's prophecy to Jennetta Richards, daughter of the minister of Walkerfold. The early part of the week brought two letters to Elder Kimball, one from Miss Richards, and the other from her father. The latter read as follows:
Mr. H. C. Kimball,
Sir:—You are expected to be here next Sunday. You are given out to preach in the forenoon, afternoon and evening. Although we be strangers to one another, yet, I hope we are not strangers to our blessed Redeemer, else I would not have given out for you to preach. Our chapel is but small and the congregation few,—yet if one soul be converted it is of more value than the whole world.
"I remain, in haste,"JOHN RICHARDS."
Taking coach from Preston on the following Saturday afternoon, a little before dark Heber arrived at the door of the Revered John Richards, in Walkerfold. On entering the house he was warmly greeted by Mr. Richards, who said: "I understand you are the minister lately from America?" Heber replied in the affirmative. The reverend gentleman then bade him welcome and exclaimed: "God bless you!" Refreshments were served and conversation ensued until a late hour, to the satisfaction of the whole family.
"Next morning," says Heber, "I accompanied the reverend gentleman to his chapel at the hour appointed. He gave out the hymns and prayed, and I preached to an overflowing congregation on the principles of salvation. I likewise preached in the afternoon and evening, and they seemed to manifest great interest in the things which I laid before them. Nearly the whole congregation were in tears. After I had concluded the services of the day Mr. Richards gave out another appointment for me to preach on Monday evening, which I attended to. By request of the congregation I likewise preached on Wednesday evening. A number believed the doctrines I advanced, and on Thursday, 17th, six individuals, all members of Mr. Richards' church, came forward for baptism. James Smithies and his wife Nancy were two of the number."
This result was more than the good pastor had anticipated. He had listened with deep interest to, and had been willing for his congregation to hear, the simple yet powerful testimony of the Mormon Apostle, who, fired with the Holy Ghost, and all unmindful of the studied arts and graces of pulpit oratory, spake, like his Master of yore, "as one having authority." But conversions of this kind he had not counted upon. Fearful of losing his entire flock, and also his salary, if any more such preaching were to be heard in his chapel, he informed Elder Kimball that he would be obliged to close his pulpit against him. Unlike Mr. Fielding, however, he manifested no bitterness of spirit, but after denying him this privilege, continued to treat his Mormon guest with great kindness and hospitality.
Heber's mind had been prepared for the change. "One night," says he, "while at Mr. Richards' house, I dreamed that an elderly gentleman came to me and rented me a lot of ground, which I was anxious to cultivate. I immediately went to work to break it up; and observing young timber on the lot, I cut it down. There was also an old building at one corner of the lot which appeared ready to fall. I took a lever and endeavored to place the building in a proper position, but all my attempts were futile, and it became worse. I then resolved to pull it down, and with the new timber build a good house on a good foundation. While thus engaged, the gentleman of whom I had rented the place came and found great fault with me for destroying his young timber, etc.
"This dream was fulfilled in the following manner: After Mr. Richards let me preach in his chapel, I baptized all of his young members, as I had before baptized his daughter. He then reflected upon himself for letting me have the privilege of his chapel; told me that I had ruined his church, and had taken away all his young members. I could not but feel pity for the old gentleman, but I had a duty to perform which outweighed all other considerations."
Heber now began to preach in private houses, which were opened in the neighborhood, and "ceased not to declare the glorious tidings of salvation." Among his interested auditors, still, was the Reverend John Richards. His daughter Jennetta was very sorrowful over the turn affairs had taken, and wept much at his refusal to allow Elder Kimball to preach in his chapel. Heber told her to be of good cheer, for he believed that the Lord would soften her father's heart, and cause him to reopen his chapel.
The fulfillment is noted as follows:
"Sunday, 27th, I went along with him to his meeting, feeling a desire to hear him preach. After he had finished his discourse, I was agreeably surprised to hear him give out another appointment for me to preach in his chapel. I accordingly preached in the afternoon and evening. The words were with power. The effect was great upon the people, for they were in tears, and the next day I baptized two more, both of them members of Mr. Richards' church. Although he had preached in that parish upwards of thirty years, and his members, as well as the inhabitants of the place and vicinity, were very much attached to him, yet when the fulness of the Gospel was preached, the people, notwithstanding their attachment to and regard for their venerable pastor, when convinced of their duty came forward and followed the footsteps of the Savior, by being buried in the likeness of His death."
While laboring in this neighborhood, Heber had a dream in which Willard Richards appeared to him and said: "You are wanted at Preston, and we cannot do without you any longer."
"The next morning," says he, "I started for Preston where I found that I was anxiously expected by the brethren, who had received a letter from Brother Richards, and one from Brother Russell, giving an account of their proceedings since they left Preston. There was also a letter from my wife, which contained many precious items of news from Kirtland. Elder Hyde praised the Lord on seeing me. Brother Goodson had likewise returned from Bedford, where he and Brother Richards had labored; he gave us an account of their mission and success in raising up a little branch of nineteen."
Another of Heber's prophecies—one of those seemingly casual though fateful utterances for which he was famous—must here be mentioned.
"Willard, I baptized your wife to-day," were his words addressed to Elder Richards just after Jennetta Richards joined the Church. Willard and Jennetta had not yet seen each other. The sequel is in Willard's own words, taken from his diary. Time: March, 1838:
"I took a tour through the branches, and preached. While walking inThornly I plucked a snowdrop, far through the hedge, and carried it toJames Mercer's and hung it up in his kitchen. Soon after, JennettaRichards came into the room, and I walked with her and Alice Parker toRibchester, and attended meeting with Brothers Kimball and Hyde atBrother Clark's.
"While walking with these sisters, I remarked, 'Richards is a good name; I never want to change it; do you, Jennetta.' 'No; I do not,' was her reply, 'and I think I never will.'"
"Sept. 24th, 1839, I married Jennetta Richards, daughter of the Rev. John Richards, independent minister at Walkerfold, Chaigley, Lancashire. Most truly do I praise my Heavenly Father for His great kindness in providing me a partner according to His promise. I receive her from the Lord, and hold her at His disposal. I pray that He may bless us forever. Amen!"
The mission of Elias is the mission of preparation, the lesser going before the greater, opening up the way. The day-star heralding the dawn. The wedge of truth piercing the wall of prejudice, cleaving the ranks of error, creating the gap through which shall ride on victory's flaming wheels, the chariot of Righteousness.
"Behold I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me."
What Christ is to the Father, Elias is to the Son; messenger and symbol of His Majesty. And hath not Elias also his fore-runner? The mantle of Elias falls on many shoulders; the shadow of that mantle on many more.
Life, the universe, is one vast symbolism. Earth fore-shadows heaven. The stars, the worlds on high, are of higher worlds typical; a climax of constellations, a ladder of light, a burning stairway of immortal glories.
"System on system, countless worlds and suns,Linked in division, one yet separate,The silver islands of a sapphire sea,Shoreless, unfathomed, undiminished, stirredWith waves which roll in restless tides of change."
Planet above planet, step by step, lustre upon lustre "until thou come nigh to Kolob;" Kolob, lord of light, king of kokaubeam, nearest unto the throne of God.
And shall it not be seen when all history is written, on earth as in heaven, where it exists as a prophecy; when all secrets are revealed and hidden things made known; that Time with all its ages is a chain, a climax, an ascending scale of dispensations, merging in each other, and all into one, like rills and rivers mingling with the ocean; that men and nations from the beginning have carved out the way for other men and nations; that human lives and human events, like sections of machinery turned by the enginery of Omnipotence, have fitted into and impelled each other, under the controlling, guiding master mind and hand that "doeth all things well?"
Was not the past all preparatory to the present? Does not the present foreshadow the future? Are not influences at work, even now; doctrines being taught, truths put forth by pulpit, play and press; discoveries made in art and science; antiquities unveiled and mysteries brought to light, that are surely paving the way for the revelations of Jesus Christ, past, present and to come? Is not the knowledge now possessed by the Saints, glorious though it be, but a foretaste, the antepast of a greater feast of knowledge yet to follow?
The mission of Elias is the mission of preparation, the lesser going before the greater, opening up the way.
The mantle of Elias falls on many shoulders; the shadow of that mantle on many more.
In America, it was Sidney Rigdon, Alexander Campbell and other orators and divines, who prepared the way before Joseph Smith and the fullness of the everlasting gospel. In England, the Fieldings, the Matthews, the Aitkens and other lights, shed the lustre of advanced thought over the path-way soon to be brightened by the beams of eternal truth. Receiving not the light themselves, they nevertheless bore witness of its approach, and unknowingly made ready the minds of many for its acceptance. The more lustrously they shone, the greater their measure of power, the higher, wider, deeper, more advanced and more liberal their doctrines, the nearer they approximated, although they knew it not, to what the world terms "Mormonism," what men in other ages called "Christianism," but what the Gods in eternity have glorified as the Gospel of life and salvation.
This preparatory work, like the work which was to follow, was both spiritual and temporal. In America, the sword of a Washington, the pen of a Jefferson had carved out the legend of liberty, "All men are equal," ere the Gospel trump was heard again proclaiming, to high and low, rich and poor, "Peace on earth, good will to men." In England, Victoria had ascended the throne, and the spirit of reform, in church and state, was rolling, a billow of victory, over the land. Society was moved to its center. Old institutions were crumbling. The iconoclast was abroad. Steam and electricity had begun their miracles; science was exploding superstition; tyrant's thrones were tottering; Liberty's upheaval in the west had shaken the very pillars of the east; the "former things" were passing away; He that "sat upon the throne" was making "all things new."
Thus had God prepared the way for the advent of the everlastingGospel.
As we have seen, the man chosen to pioneer the work on Europe's shores, to lead the assault on Satan's strongholds in the old world, and wave back over the Atlantic to his chief the signal of truth triumphant among the nations, was Heber C. Kimball.
Speaking of those "lesser lights" who went before him and his brethrenand unwittingly helped them to establish Mormonism in the BritishIsles, Heber says, referring now to the mission of Elders Richards andGoodson to the city of Bedford:
"A minister by the name of Timothy R. Matthews, a brother-in-law to Joseph Fielding, received them very kindly, and invited them to preach in his church, which was accepted, and in it they preached several times, when a number, amongst whom were Mr. Matthews and his lady, believed their testimony, and the truths which they proclaimed. Mr. Matthews had likewise borne testimony to his congregation of the truth of these things, and that they were the same principles that were taught by the Apostles anciently; and besought his congregation to receive the same. Forty of his members went forward and were baptized, and the time was appointed when he was to be baptized. In the interval, however, Brother Goodson, contrary to my counsel and positive instructions, and without advising with any one, read to Mr. Matthews the vision seen by President Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, which caused him to stumble, and darkness pervaded his mind; so much so, that at the time specified he did not make his appearance, but went and baptized himself in the river Ouse; and from that time he began to preach baptism for the remission of sins. He wrote to Rev. James Fielding saying that his best members had left him."
"Mr. Matthews was a gentleman of considerable learning and talent. He had been a minister in the established church of England, but seeing many things in that church contrary to truth and righteousness, and feeling that an overturn was nigh at hand, and that the church was destitute of the gifts of the Spirit, and was not expecting the Savior to come to reign upon the earth, as had been spoken by the prophets; he felt led to withdraw from that body, and gave up his prospects in that establishment. He then began to preach the things which he verily believed, and was instrumental in raising up quite a church in that place."
This of the Reverend Mr. Fielding, in Preston:
"Mr. James Fielding had been a minister in the Methodist Church, but for some of the above causes had withdrawn from that society, and had collected a considerable church in Preston. Those gentlemen, with their congregations at the time we arrived were diligently contending for that faith which was once delivered to the saints; but they afterwards rejected the truth. Notwithstanding they did not obey the Gospel, the greater portion of their members received our testimony, obeyed the ordinances we taught, and are now rejoicing in the blessings of the new and everlasting covenant."
Of the Rev. Robert Aitken, the most famous of these reform ministers,Tullidge, our local historian, says:
"He seems to have been almost a Whitefield in his eloquence and magical influence over the people. He was emphatically the most popular 'new light' of the period in England. For years he had been preaching very successfully against 'the corruptions of the established church.' His mission had been quite a crusade against the English Episcopacy, and he had established many flourishing chapels in Liverpool, Preston, Manchester, Burslem, London and elsewhere. In the metropolis he founded 'Zion's chapel' and what is interesting in the case was that his themes on the ancient prophecies and their fulfillment in 'these latter days' were very like what might have been heard from Alexander Campbell or the eloquent Sidney Rigdon, before as well as after he became a Mormon Elder. The Rev. Robert Aitken was also powerful in his 'warnings to the Gentiles,' and his sermons were often glorious outbursts of inspiration, when he dwelt upon the prospect of a latter-day church rising in fulfillment of the prophets."
But the power and influence of this brilliant star were about to wane. A greater luminary had arisen—the very Latter-day Church of which he had spoken—before whose rays the light of "Zion's Chapel" must pale as pales the starlight before the morn.
Concerning this celebrated expounder of the Bible, andpounderof the Book of Mormon—for such it seems he literally was—Apostle Kimball writes:
"Soon after our arrival in England, many of the Aitkenites embraced the Gospel, which caused considerable feeling and opposition in the ministers belonging to that sect. Having lost quite a number of members, and seeing that more were on the eve of being baptized, the Rev. Robert Aitken came to Preston, and gave out that he was going to put down Mormonism, expose the doctrines, and overthrow the Book of Mormon. He made a very long oration on the subject, was very vehement in his manner, and pounded the Book of Mormon on the pulpit many times. He then exhorted the people to pray that the Lord would drive us from their coast; and if the Lord would not hear them in that petition, that He would smite the leaders.
"The next Sunday Elder Hyde and myself went to our meeting room, read the thirteenth chapter of first Corinthians, and strongly urged upon the people the grace of charity which is so highly spoken of in that chapter, and made some remarks on the proceedings of the Reverend Robert Aitken, who had abused us and the Book of Mormon so very much. In return for his railing we exhorted the Saints to pray that the Lord would soften his heart and open his eyes that he might see that it was hard to 'kick against the pricks.' This discourse had a very good effect, and that week we had the pleasure of baptizing fifty into the kingdom of Jesus, a large number of whom were members of Mr. Aitken's church."
Thus did the sheep of Israel, straying in Idumean pastures, continue flocking back into the Master's fold. They knew the voice of their Shepherd when He called, and a stranger they would no longer follow.