CHAPTER XXVI.
HEBER'S FAREWELL TO CHATBURN—AN AFFECTING SCENE—HIS SYMPATHY FOR THE POOR OF ENGLAND—THE APRIL CONFERENCE IN PRESTON—TWO THOUSAND SAINTS ASSEMBLE—JOSEPH FIELDING APPOINTED TO PRESIDE OVER THE BRITISH MISSION.
We left Apostles Kimball and Hyde, with their associates in the ministry, visiting the various branches of the mission they had founded, preparatory to taking farewell leave of the Saints and sailing for America. They agreed to hold a general conference in Preston on the 8th of April, the day before their departure.
"In the interval," writes Heber, "I went and visited the branches in the regions of Clithero and Chatburn, and on the morning when I left Chatburn many were in tears, thinking they should see my face no more. When I left them, my feelings were such as I cannot describe. As I walked down the street I was followed by numbers; the doors were crowded by the inmates of the houses to bid me farewell, who could only give vent to their grief in sobs and broken accents. While contemplating this scene I was constrained to take off my hat, for I felt as if the place was holy ground. The Spirit of the Lord rested down upon me and I was constrained to bless that whole region of country. I was followed by a great number to Clithero, a considerable distance from the villages, who could then hardly separate from me. My heart was like unto theirs, and I thought my head was a fountain of tears, for I wept for several miles after I bid them adieu. I had to leave the road three times to go to streams of water to bathe my eyes."
"Who can read this," says Tullidge, beautifully, "without a feeling of profound veneration for the great and good man whose memory is enshrined in the hearts of the British Saints as their spiritual father? That touching scene is enough to immortalize the character of Heber C. Kimball as a true apostle of Christ; and the pathos is actually heightened when he is seen alone by the wayside weeping, or by the streams washing away those sacred tears."
Heber C. Kimball was indeed a true apostle of Christ, one of the called and chosen; a prophet and a servant of God, in nature as well as name.
The Prophet Joseph told him in after years that the reason he felt as he did in the streets of Chatburn was because the place was indeed "holy ground," that some of the ancient prophets had traveled in that region and dedicated the land, and that he, Heber, had reaped the benefit of their blessing.
It being known that the Elders were about to leave England, great numbers flocked to hear them, and many were baptized. Their labors were consequently very arduous. Says Elder Kimball:
"Some days we went from house to house, conversing with the people on the things of the kingdom, and would sometimes be instrumental in convincing many of the truth: and I have known as many as twenty persons baptized in one day, who have been convinced on such occasions. I have had to go into the water to administer the ordinance of baptism six or seven times a day, and frequently after having come out of the water and changed my clothes, I have had to turn back to the water before I reached my lodgings; this, too, when the weather was extremely cold, the ice being from twelve to fourteen inches thick. The weather continued so about twelve weeks, during which time I think there were but ten days in which we were not in the water baptizing. The harvest was indeed plenteous, but the laborers were few."
The following passage of reflections on the poor of England is worthy of the great philanthropic heart of Heber C. Kimball:
"This was very extraordinary weather for that country, as I was informed that some winters they had scarcely any frost or snow, and the oldest inhabitants told me that they never experienced such a winter before. In consequence of the inclemency of the weather, several manufacturing establishments were shut up, and several thousands of men, women and children were thrown out of employment, whose sufferings during that time were severe; and I was credibly informed, and verily believe, that many perished from starvation. Such sufferings I never witnessed before. The scenes which I daily beheld were enough to chill the blood in my veins. The streets were crowded with men, women and children who begged from the passengers as they walked along. Numbers of those poor, wretched beings were without shoes or stockings, and scarcely any covering to screen them from the inclemency of the weather; and daily I could discover delicate females walking the streets gathering up the animal refuse, and carrying it to places where they could sell it for a penny or half-penny. And thus they lived through the winter. At the same time there were hundreds and thousands living in wealth and splendor. I felt to exclaim, O Lord, how long shall these things exist! How long shall the rich oppress the poor, and have no more care or interest for them than the brutes of the field, nor half so much! When will distress and poverty cease, and peace and plenty abound! When the Lord Jesus shall descend in the clouds of heaven, then the rod of the oppressor shall be broken. Hasten the time, O Lord, was frequently the language of my heart when I contemplated the scenes of wretchedness and woe which I daily witnessed.
"Great numbers were initiated into the Kingdom of Heaven; those who were sick were healed; those who were diseased flocked to us daily; and truly their faith was great, such as I hardly ever witnessed before, consequently many were healed of their infirmities. We were continually employed day and night, some nights hardly closing our eye-lids. The task was almost more than we could endure; but realizing the circumstances of this people, their love of the truth, their humility and unfeigned charity, caused us to use all diligence and make good use of every moment, for truly our bowels yearned over them."
Touching the prospects of the missionary work in England, he adds:
"The work kept spreading; the prospect of usefulness grew brighter and brighter, and the field opened larger and larger; while the cries of 'Come, and administer the words of life unto us,' were more and more frequently sounding in our ears. I do not remember during the last six months I was in England of retiring to my bed earlier than midnight, which was also the case with Brothers Hyde and Fielding.
"Sunday, April 8th, the day of the conference, came. The Saints began to assemble at an early hour. By nine o'clock there were from six to seven hundred present from various parts of the country. After the meeting was opened by singing and prayer, we had a representation of the following branches, viz.: Preston, Penwortham, Walkerfold, Thornley, Ribchester, Chatburn, Clithero, Barshe Lees, Waddington, Leyland Moss, Leyland Lane, Eccleston, Hunter's Hill, Euxton, Whittle, Dauber's Lane, Bamber Bridge, Longton, Southport, Downham, Burnley, Bedford, Alston, Brampton, Bolton, Chorley. The total number of Saints represented were about two thousand, which, with the exception of the branches in Preston, Bedford and Cumberland, were principally raised up by my own labors, as I spent my time in the branches, except on Sundays, when I preached in Preston. The branch in Preston numbered about four hundred, that in Bedford forty, and the branch in Cumberland sixty."
All this was the work of only eight months. Two thousand had been baptized and enough branches organized to form the base work of three or four conferences, incorporating in the missionary work about that number of the counties of England. Thus the work had already widely spread, yet only three or four Elders had been out in the ministry. Heber C. Kimball himself had converted in eight months about one thousand five hundred souls. He continues:
"We gave instructions to the official members, reminding them of their several duties and callings, and the responsibilities which rested upon them; pressing upon them the necessity of being humble and faithful in the discharge of their duties, so that by patience, meekness and love unfeigned, they might commend themselves to God, and the Church of Jesus Christ, over whom the Holy Ghost had made them guardians.
"Feeling it necessary for the good of the kingdom to leave someone in authority over the whole church, I nominated Joseph Fielding to preside, with Willard Richards as his first counselor, and William Clayton his second counselor. The nominations met with the approbation of the whole assembly, who agreed to hearken to their instructions and uphold them in their offices. These brethren were then ordained to the High Priesthood, and set apart to preside over the Church in England. Eight Elders, several Priests, Teachers and Deacons, were set apart and ordained to the several offices to which they were called. One of the brethren ordained was going to Manchester, and another to the city of London."
"We then confirmed forty individuals, after which about one hundred children were blessed. The same day twenty persons were baptized for the remission of sins. We then proceeded to administer the sacrament to the numerous assembly, and gave some general instructions to the whole church respecting their duty to God and to each other, which were listened to with great attention.
"At this conference we were favored with the company of Elder Willard Richards, also Elder Russell, who had returned from Cumberland. He met with considerable opposition from his own kindred, as well as from ministers of the different denominations, who sought every opportunity to destroy his influence. Notwithstanding the great opposition he was instrumental in bringing upwards of sixty souls into the kingdom of God, and left them rejoicing in the truth, under the watchcare of Elder Jacob Peart. Thus the great work was commenced in three places, Preston, Bedford and Alston, which forcibly reminds me of the parable of the leaven which the woman hid in the three measures of meal."
The conference closes with another of those almost dramatic pictures with which this eventful history abounds.
"At 5 p. m.," says the Apostle, "we brought the conference to a close, having continued without interruption from 9 a. m., and appointed 7 o'clock the same evening to deliver our farewell addresses. At the appointed time we repaired to the 'Cock Pit' which was crowded to excess. Brother Hyde and myself spoke to them concerning our labors in that land, the success of the ministry, and the kindness we had experienced at their hands, and told them we expected before long to see them again, after we had visited the Church and our families in America. When we spoke of our departure their souls were melted; they gave vent to their feelings and wept like little children, and broke out in lamentations like the following: 'How can we part with our beloved brethren!' 'We may never see them again!' 'O, why must you leave us!' I could not restrain my feelings, and they found vent in a flood of tears. It would have been almost an impossibility for us to have left this affectionate people, if we had not had the most implicit confidence in the brethren who had been appointed to preside over them in our absence; but knowing they had the confidence of the Church, we felt that affairs would be conducted in righteousness.
"Immediately after dismissing the congregation we met the official brethren, about eighty, and instructed them in their duties, and dismissed at 1 o'clock the next morning."