Report of High Council Committee.
The High Council of the Church of Jesus Christ to the Saints of Nauvoo, greeting—
Dear Brethren:—As watchmen upon the walls of Zion, we feel it to be our duty to stir up your minds, by way of remembrance, of things which we conceive to be of the utmost importance to the Saints.
While we rejoice at the health and prosperity of the Saints, and the good feeling which seems to prevail among them generally, and their willingness to aid in the building of the "House of the Lord," we are grieved at the conduct of some, who seem to have forgotten the purpose for which they have gathered.
Instead of promoting union, they have appeared to be engaged in sowing strifes and animosities among their brethren, spreading evil reports, brother going to law with brother for trivial causes, which we consider a great evil, and altogether unjustifiable, except in extreme cases, and then not before the world.
We feel to advise taking the word of God for our guide, and exhort you not to forget that you have come up as saviors upon Mount Zion, consequently to seek each other's good—to become one, inasmuch as the Lord has said, "Except ye become one, ye are not mine."
Let us always remember the admonition of the Apostle—"Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the Saints? Do ye not know the Saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? If, then, ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the Church. I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren. But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers. Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God" (I Cor. 6: 1-10). Who, observing these things, would go to law distressing his brother, thereby giving rise to hardness, evil speaking, strifes and animosities among those who have covenanted to keep the commandments of God—who have taken upon them the name of Saints, and if Saints are to judge angels, and also to judge the world—why then are they not competent to judge in temporal matters, especially in trivial cases, taking the law of the Lord for their guide, brotherly kindness, charity, &c., as well as the law of the land? Brethren, these are evils which ought not to exist among us. We hope the time will speedily arrive when these things will be done away, and everyone stand in the office of his calling, as a faithful servant of God, building each other up, bearing each other's infirmities, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
William Marks, President; Samuel Bent, Lewis D. Wilson, David Fullmer, Thomas Grover, Newel Knight, Leonard Soby, James Allred, Elias Higbee, George W. Harris, Aaron Johnson, William Huntington, Sen., Daniel Carrier, Austin Cowles, Charles C. Rich, Counselors.
Attest: Hosea Stout, Clerk.
Sir Robert Sale [commander of the British forces in Afghanistan] received a letter from Sha-Shoojah, requiring him to evacuate Jellalabad, with which he refused to comply.
Saturday, 29.—I was much engaged with the tithings; in the afternoon in my office, counseling various individuals: and in the evening in council with Brothers Young, Kimball, Richards and others, showing forth the Kingdom and the order thereof concerning many things, and the will of God concerning His servants.
Letter of G. Walker to Elder Brigham Young et al.—Affairs in England since Departure of the Apostles.
Manchester, England, Jan. 29, 1842.
To President Young, Elders Kimball and Richards.
Beloved Brethren:—Soon after your departure, a clergyman of the church of England called upon my employer, to request that he might have an interview with me, as he had a wish to propound certain questions to me; upon his request being complied with, we retired to a private room, when he produced a long list of questions, written down, opposite to which he wrote my answers. The rise of the Church, Priesthood, doctrines offices, sacraments, &c., were the principal queries he advanced. When he demurred to any of our principles I was proceeding to explain, he cut my discourse short by saying he would not hold any controversy, his object being only to obtain information. After the disposal of his queries, he wished to be informed where he could obtain the whole of the publications of the Latter-day Saints, as he wished to be in possession of them; I informed him at 47 Oxford street, Manchester, and he promised to send for them.
Soon after the visit of this reverend gentleman, I had reason to suspect that undermining operations were in progress against me, I therefore tendered my resignation to the directors, but they would not accept it; and very soon after a public accountant was employed by them to investigate their accounts for several years back, and I was happy to be able to answer satisfactorily every question that was asked of me respecting them.
After this another minister sent a lengthy article extracted from an American paper, purporting to be the production of a Mr. Anthon, with a request that I would "read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest" the same. I replied to the statements of Mr. Anthon, and after disposing of them paragraph for paragraph, I told him that I was obliged by his favoring me with it, inasmuch as it satisfied my mind, and was confirmatory of the prediction of Isaiah being fulfilled, seeing that Mr. Anthon admitted that "the words of the book were delivered to the learned," &c. I then proceeded to contrast the church of England with churches established by the Apostles; but he has not acknowledged the receipt of my letter as yet. The clergy are building ten new churches in this town and neighborhood, and are employing additional curates to go round to the houses of their parishoners, to coerce or intimidate them into an attendance upon their services in fulfillment of the words of Paul, In the last days perilous times will come, &c., that they would have a form of godliness, but deny the power, and would creep into houses to lead captive silly women, &c. (See II Timothy, 1st chapter, 1st to 8th verses.) These curates make repeated visits, generally when the heads of families are from home, and take special care to enquire where the family are employed, and what place of worship they attend, &c., and leave tracts for the family to read.
One of the Rev. Hugh Stowell's curates has paid several visits to my house, but always in my absence, although he was requested to call when I was at home, and informed of the time when he might meet with me.
The following discourse took place in our own neighborhood: Curate: What religion may you be, my good woman? I am a churchwoman, sir. What church do you usually attend? I never attend any, sir.
After reprimanding the woman for pretending to be one of his flock, while she absented herself from the fold, he went to the house of a poor woman who had lately joined the Saints. I am a minister of the Church of Jesus Christ in England, and have called to inquire what school you send your children to, and what religion you profess? The woman replied she was a "Latter-day Saint." "Oh! delusion, delusion!" he rejoined, and began to rail against the Saints, whereupon she handed him the Bible, and requested him to read the place where she casually opened to, namely the third chapter of Micah, and to preach a discourse from that part of the Bible; but he retreated from before her and has not troubled her since.
The Lord Bishop of Chester and the Protestant clergymen, have hired a person of the name of Brindley to go about lecturing against the Saints, and have commenced a monthly periodical in which the foul slanders heaped upon the Saints in America and elsewhere are retailed out to satisfy the malice of the enemies of truth. The Manchester Courier has had several articles against our society and principles, and the old Spaulding romance has been resuscitated for the occasion. The Rev. Charles Burton, Doctor of Laws, minister of "All Saints," has been several times to see me lately, and upon one occasion invited me to his house, where I went and discussed our principles for several hours, until he was glad to withdraw from the contest; I found him ignorant in a great measure of what the Bible contains respecting the latter-days. He admitted that the Saints would reign on earth.
The great work of the Lord is still progressing in spite of all the opposition of lying priests and their auxiliaries of the newspaper press. I baptized Elizabeth Smith, who resided with us when you were in England, and she purposes coming out to America along with us.
There is very great distress among the operatives and the poor generally, and great excitement respecting the agitation of the repeal of the corn laws. Great fires have frequently occurred at the commencement of this year; a large carrier's warehouse was consumed by fire, about from £200,000 to £300,000 ($1,000,000 to $1,500,000) worth of cotton and grain, &c., destroyed. It was the Union Company's carrying ware house, Piccadilly. There is great depression in almost every branch of manufactures, and great perplexity; and I am daily more and more convinced that the time is not far distant when Babylon the great will be fallen and become a desolation, and the kings and the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, and she will be cast down, even as a great mill-stone cast into the sea, and will be found no more at all.
I opened a place for preaching at Blakesley, about six week's ago; and there were three baptized and confirmed there last week. I was with Elder John Brotherton at Middleton on Sunday last, where he and Elder Hardman had obtained a room to preach to the Chartists. [[6]] We have also a place opened at Disbury and Heaton.
About three weeks ago there was a letter inserted in the Manchester Courier, by a writer who signs himself R. P., calling upon the clergymen of the church of England, and the respectable inhabitants, and the most respectable and intelligent of the police, to attend our meetings at the Carpenters' Hall, as they had fondly hoped that the system would have fallen to the ground by the weight of its own absurdity; but they found that there was method and consistency in the apparent madness of these deluded people, and that experience had taught them that such expectations were vain; as they had observed that there was considerable consistency displayed, and method attending our arrangements, there being an emigration office established in this town, &c. The writer suspected there was a genuine American trick being practiced by the interested parties at the head of the system, to decoy the ignorant and unwary to perish in the swamps of New Orleans, and that they were draining the country of their best artists; and it was high time some steps were taken to put a stop to such practices.
We have since discovered that the writer is no other than Robert Philips, Esq., an extensive manufacturer and merchant, brother to Mark Philips, Esq., another great manufacturer and member of parliament for the Borough of Manchester. The editor of the Courier has been playing upon the same string for several weeks since, and feels satisfied that from the exposure he has given the whole system, it must inevitably die away. He was therefore satisfied with having done his duty, and could safely leave them to the management of the proper parties, and recommend the police to do their duty. It appears that the gallant officer at the head of the police (Sir Charles Shaw), has too much discretion and good sense to be set on like a dog to worry out a society of Christians, because the editor of the Puseyite Oracle pointed the finger of scorn at them, because they dared to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences. I should have liked very well for the police to have been there on Sunday last, for three persons had to be put out by the brethren for disturbing the meeting in the sacrament services.
I remain, beloved brethren, your brother and fellow laborer,
G. Walker.
P. S.—I omitted to say that the writer in the paper alluded to, informed the public that he was endeavoring to obtain information respecting the movements of the people. He had previously sent a person to Elder Pratt to get him to state something in writing respecting emigration, and after the publication of the letter before referred to, he again sent to Elder Pratt for additional information in writing. I happened to be at Elder Pratt's when he made the second application, and I told Elder Pratt that he was the individual who had published the letter in the Courier. Elder Pratt sent him another letter containing the required information; and also stated that he had no objection to submit to him, or to the government of this country, or any of its departments, the religious principles of our society, our place of emigration, and indeed the whole of our movements in this and other countries, for the strictest investigation.
The manufacturers are evidently beginning to be jealous of the mechanics and workmen emigrating with people having so systematic an organization as the Latter-day Saints display in their arrangements in this town.
I remain yours, &c. G. W.
Footnotes:
[1]. Peter Maughan was born May 7, 1811, at Breckenridge, in the parish of Parley, county of Cumberland, England. He married Miss Ruth Harrison in 1829. He was baptized into the Church by Elder Isaac Russell in 1838, and emigrated to Nauvoo with his family of six children, now motherless, his wife having died in 1841. He came on the ship Rochester, in company with Brigham Young and several other members of the quorum of the Twelve on their return home. He was a man of keen intelligence and commanding personal influence.
[2]. Cabul is the capital of Afghanistan, situated on the river Kabul. It is noted as a commercial and strategic center, and the event named in the text above is an incident in what is usually called the first Afghan War. While the British were compelled to evacuate the place, as stated in the text, they re-took it in September following.
[3]. Widow of the late Don Carlos Smith, the Prophet's brother.
[4]. The article from the Star here referred to is inserted in extenso, and that for the reason that so many letters of Elder Hyde's concerning his journey to Jerusalem have already appeared in this volume, that this one seems necessary to the completion of the history of that mission, which must be regarded as an important movement on the part of the Church at this period.
[5]. George W. Gee was the first son of Solomon and Sarah W. Gee, born in Rome, Ashtabula county, Ohio, August 13, 1815. Was baptized at Kirtland, Geauga county, Ohio, February 17, 1833. Married Mary Jane Smith in Kirtland, February 5, 1838, by whom he had two sons named Elias S. and George W. Went to Caldwell county, Missouri, 1838. Was driven out by a mob in the spring of 1839. Went to Nauvoo, and was ordained an Elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at the first conference held at Nauvoo, in October, 1839. Removed to Ambrosa, Lee county, Iowa, where he was appointed postmaster and deputy county surveyor; he surveyed the city plats of Nashville and Zarahemla, under the direction of President Joseph Smith. Was sent by the fall conference in 1841, to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he died, January 20, 1842, while in discharge of his duties, having won the affections of all the Saints with whom he had become acquainted, by his integrity and perseverance. His opportunity for schooling had been limited, but by his own exertion he attained to an excellent education, and collected quite a respectable library.