[4]. In this and several of the following paragraphs the Prophet alludes to Alexander Campbell, founder of the sect of the "Disciples;" and also to an article which appeared in the Millennial Harbinger, Vol. 2 (1831), pages 86-96. The reference to Elymas, to which the Prophet so strongly replies, stands thus in Campbell's article—which was afterwards circulated as a pamphlet: "I have never felt so fully authorized to address mortal man in the style in which Paul addressed Elymas the sorcerer as I feel towards this atheist Smith." (Millennial Harbinger, Vol. 2, p. 96). That is, "O full of all subtlety and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord" (Acts 13:10).
The paragraph dealing with the laying on of hands, and the passages of scripture quoted in support of that doctrine will also be the better understood when it is known that while Mr. Campbell and his associates taught faith in God, repentance and baptism for the remission of sins, they rejected wholly the doctrine of the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the enjoyment of the spiritual blessings which accompany the possession of that Spirit.
[5]. Notwithstanding this promise of the Prophet, the subject was not again renewed by him. About this time he was so overwhelmed with work and a multitude of other subjects that he did not find time to complete the work he had outlined in these papers.
Chapter XX.
Sundry Affairs at Kirtland—The Pledge to Redeem Zion.
Conference at New Portage.
I went to New Portage on the 2nd of September, in company with Oliver Cowdery and Sidney Rigdon, to attend a conference; and returned on the 8th. I was engaged in various spiritual and temporal matters for several days.
Provision Made for Remunerating the Patriarch; Oliver Cowdery Appointed Church Recorder.