Sunday, 3.—I attended council with my brother Hyrum, Newel B. Whitney, Willard Richards, William Law and William Marks, and gave instructions to the brethren in relation to things in futurity.
A tremendous storm at Chester, Penn. The creek rose twenty-three feet in two hours, and swept away all the bridges, many factories and houses, and upwards of twenty persons drowned.
A conference was held at Hayward's Hotel, Manchester, England.
Minutes of the Manchester Conference, held 3rd of September, 1843.
Charles Miller, President; William Walker, Clerk. Present: 1 Patriarch, 1 High Priest, 25 Elders, 40 Priests, 21 Teachers, and 4 Deacons.
Total number of members represented was as follows: 1,549 members, including 44 Elders, 99 Priests, 56 Teachers, 22 Deacons. Baptized since last general conference, 80; cut off, 29; emigrated, 18; removed, 26; died, 4.
Monday, 4.—Attended mayor's court and tried three cases—viz.,
City versus A. Dodge, S. Dodge, and Luther Purtelow.
The two first I fined five dollars, and the last one dollar and costs. One, p.m., called and gave licence for a circus performance, which I attended with my family until five, p.m.
I copy from the New York Sun as follows:—
"JOE SMITH, THE MORMON PROPHET."[[3]]
This Joe Smith must be set down as an extraordinary character, a prophet-hero, as Carlyle might call him. He is one of the great men of this age, and in future history will rank with those who, in one way or another, have stamped their impress strongly on society.
Nothing can be more plebeian, in seeming, than this Joe Smith. Little of dignity is there in his cognomen; but few in this age have done such deeds, and performed such apparent miracles. It is no small thing, in the blaze of this nineteenth century, to give to men a new revelation, found a new religion, establish new forms of worship, to build a city, with new laws, institutions, and orders of architecture,—to establish ecclesiastic, civil and military jurisdiction, found colleges, send out missionaries, and make proselytes in two hemispheres: yet all this has been done by Joe Smith, and that against every sort of opposition, ridicule and persecution. This sect has its martyrs also; and the spirit in which they were imprisoned and murdered in Missouri, does not appear to have differed much from that which has attended religious persecutions in all ages of the world.
That Joe Smith, the founder of the Mormons, is a man of great talent, a deep thinker, and eloquent speaker, an able writer, and a man of great mental power, no one can doubt who has watched his career. That his followers are deceived, we all believe; but, should the inherent corruptions of Mormonism fail to develop themselves sufficiently to convince its followers of their error, where will the thing end? A great military despotism is growing up in the fertile West, increasing faster in proportion, than the surrounding population, spreading its influence around, and marshalling multitudes under its banners, causing serious alarm to every patriot.
What is the reason that men are so blind that they cannot or will not see the hand of the Lord in His work of the last days!