Comment.
What a stupendous work has been accomplished through his instrumentality! And what an immeasurable benefit has it been to that part of the human family which has laid hold of the blessings offered! His active service in the work, though limited to but fifteen years, when he gave his life a sacrifice for Truth, has made his name known throughout the entire civilized world; and as the angel told him, it is known for good and evil. Those whose prejudices, fed on popular denunciations and accusations which have their origin in untruthful breasts of wicked and depraved men, have kept them under the clouds of ignorance and misunderstanding regarding him and his mission, hold his name in disrepute; while those who have heeded not the libelous and slanderous cries of his enemies, but have probed to the root of the truth in the matter, and consequently understood him as he was and his mission as it actually is, hold his name in honor, whether they have obeyed the Gospel or not; but those who revere his memory most, hold it sacred before men, and thank God for his noble life and his faithful work, are those who have heard and obeyed the Gospel of Jesus Christ as it was restored to the earth through Him, and during their whole lives have lived righteously before the Lord, true and steadfast to every covenant they have made with Him.
In reviewing the results of his labors effected by the aid of God's power manifested in him, as we see them today in the perfected Church of Christ, its influence upon the world, the achievements of those who have embraced the truth, and the favorable condition of the saints generally, certainly of the literal fulfilment of the prediction of the prophet of old that in the last day God would establish a marvelous work and a wonder, forces itself clearly upon our minds. And in view of all that has been accomplished through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the far-reaching effects of his labors, even his bitterest enemies and those who most vigorously combat the system God established through him, are forced to a realization of the truth of Josiah Quincy's contention that of all Americans in the nineteenth century, none among them have exerted so great an influence upon "the destinies of their countrymen" as has "Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet!" and to-day more than ever before, should the world appreciate the value of Mr. Quincy's declaration concerning him, that "such a human being is not to be disposed of by pelting his memory with unsavory epithets." His life was devoted to the cause of humanity, according as God directed him; and although the world will not acknowledge it, nevertheless there are nearly half a million earnest, sincere and honest-hearted men and women who know he was a prophet of the most high God, and that which he declared to the world under the spirit of the Almighty is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with its gifts, its blessings, and its powers restored for the salvation and exaltation of man. Thank God for the noble life and the faithful labors of his humble and obedient servant, Joseph Smith! (Elders Journal, Vol. 4, pages 146-7.)
"Those who have not been enclosed within the walls of prison without cause or provocation, can have but little idea how sweet the voice of a friend is! One token of friendship from any source whatever, awakens and calls into action every sympathetic feeling; it brings up in an instant everything that is past; it seizes the present with the avidity of lightening; it grasps after the future with the fierceness of a tiger; it moves the mind backward and forward, from one thing to another, until finally all enmity, malice, hatred, and past differences, misunderstandings and mismanagements, are slain victorious at the feet of hope."
Joseph Smith, claiming to be an inspired teacher, faced adversity such as few men have been called to meet, enjoyed a brief season of prosperity such as few men have ever attained, and finally, forty-three days after I saw him, went cheerfully to a martyr's death. When he surrendered his person to Governor Ford in order to prevent the shedding of innocent blood, the Prophet had a premonition of what was before him. (Josiah Quincy in Figures of the Past.)