His next duty used to be, to "see the women folks," to whom he was friendly and kind, but no more. He is not Brigham the husband, but Brigham the Prophet and Seer. The women fear and reverence him as their God, watch his countenance as he gives them counsel, and look upon every word he utters as the "key" to some great mystery. He pays much less attention to them now than formerly, but is kind and considerate in his conduct toward them.
This duty done, he next proceeds to his office, to receive his visitors, and to transact any business that may be there awaiting his attention. His counsel is sought upon all subjects, even in the minutest domestic affairs of the people. So numerous are these applications for advice and assistance, that many are turned away with a very brief answer, while some are denied access entirely.
Theoretically, no one but he can "seal" or give plural wives in marriage, and such at first was the practice. But in later years, this power has been delegated to Kimball and others, and to the Bishops of distant wards. The divorces of such can only come from him; and from this source alone he derives a handsome revenue. He once said from the pulpit to the people, that "the divorce money which he received through their d—d foolery, furnished him with plenty of spending money."
No speculations are entered upon, no enterprises begun, without consulting "Brother Brigham." This he encourages and commands. "If you do not know what to do, in order
to do right, come to me at any time, and I will give you the word of the Lord on the subject."
This mode of directing the people, though laborious and perplexing, has its advantages. Their secret thoughts and plans are thus laid open to his view, and facts are sometimes brought to his knowledge very important and essential to be known, having a direct bearing upon the permanent maintenance of his rule and authority. The people, too, by such frequent consultations, are led to believe that their prosperity, happiness, and safety, are all dependent upon the favor and assistance of their leader. If any one becomes contumacious and troublesome, he has the earliest information of the fact, and soon devises means to be rid of the annoyance.
It is a common expression among the people at Salt Lake, "When I obey counsel, I am prospered in everything; when I neglect it, I prosper in nothing."
Years ago, Brigham was kind and fatherly toward his followers. If he met one of them in the street, he gave him a cordial greeting and a hearty shake of the hand, with an inquiry concerning his family and prospects. But of late, the Prophet, having become rich, has grown haughty and proud, and as he rides along in his fine carriage, surrounded by his courtiers and sycophants, the toiling, hard-handed brethren, who receive no friendly recognition, sometimes shake their heads and mutter sentiments strangely discordant with those generally expressed in conversation.
The feeling of dissatisfaction at the distance placed by the Prophet between himself and his followers, has grown, as that distance became more perceptible, until it has become quite universal among the poorer classes. The poverty-stricken saint, as he takes home upon his back or his wheelbarrow a sack of flour, or piece of meat, obtained with difficulty by his daily toil, beholds his Prophet, his spiritual guide, clothed in fine raiment, seated in a splendid carriage, by his side a courtesan, a so-called wife. He sees the smile and kind word, which should be given to his suffering and
down-trodden people, lavished upon a harlot. He turns in disgust, and with a weary and troubled spirit, seeks temporary rest in his own humble home. Here kind poverty has protected him from the vices of his leaders, and he thanks God inwardly, after all, that he has not yet abandoned the wife of his youth. To such, the new preachers sent by the "Josephites," to bring the people back to virtue, to loyalty, and to the original Mormon religion, appear as angels from heaven, and hence the ready assent given to their teachings, and the rapid defection from the established church.