Afternoon Session, two p.m.
Conference again opened; but the wind being too strong, the congregation made a temporary stand at the east end of the Temple walls, when Elder Taylor resumed his remarks on the kingdom of God being set up in the last days, which will be like the little stone cut out of the mountain.
Elder Orson Hyde said it was three years since he met with the Saints and was set apart for his mission to Jerusalem. He had traveled in the four quarters of the globe and had been among people speaking fourteen or fifteen different languages, and they all agree that some great event is close at hand.
Singing and prayer.
Sunday, 9th. Conference opened by singing, "The Spirit of God like a fire is burning."
Prayer and singing. In consequence of President Joseph Smith being afflicted in his lungs and breast, he was not able to preach, and called on Elder Joshua Grant to speak, who stated that he had just returned from a mission of three years. He had traveled through several states, and had, in company with his brother, Jedediah M. Grant, raised up a church of two hundred members. For synopsis of discourse, see Times and Seasons, Vol. iv, page 236-7.
Elder Amasa M. Lyman also preached an eloquent discourse on the Book of Mormon, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. See Times and Seasons, Vol. iv, pages 218-20.
CHAPTER XVIII.
A GREAT MISSIONARY MOVEMENT—SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO ELDERS UNDERTAKING MISSIONS—IMPRISONMENT OF ORRIN P. ROCKWELL—ARRIVAL OF SAINTS FROM ENGLAND—SPEECH OF THE PROPHET—INDIAN ELOQUENCE.
A Special Conference at Nauvoo.
Monday, April 10, 1843.—At 10 a.m. a special conference of elders convened and continued by adjournment from time to time till the 12th. There were present of the quorum of the Twelve, Brigham Young, president; Heber C. Kimball, William Smith, Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, John Taylor, George A. Smith, and Willard Richards.
The object of the conference was to ordain elders and send them forth into the vineyard to build up churches; and the following appointments were made, with united voices by the conference, agreeable to requests which were made by individuals who were acquainted with the several places which they represented:—
Names and Appointments of Elders.
James M. Munroe and Truman Gillet, Auburn, New York.
Dominicus Carter, Lockport, Indiana.
Joshua Holman and John Pierce, Madison, Indiana.
Wandall Mace and Isaac C. Haight, Orange county, New York.
William O. Clark, Richardson Settlement, Iowa.
Benjamin L. Clapp, John Blair, Wilkinson Hewitt, and Lyman O. Littlefield, Alabama.
Alonzo Whitney and J. Goodale, Dublin, Ohio.
William Eaton, Westfield, Sullivan county, New York.
Zebedee Coltrin, Graham Coltrin, and James H. Flanigan, Smith and Tazwell counties, Virginia.
Jonathan Dunham, Laurenceburgh, Indiana.
Lewis Robbins and Jacob Gates have a roving commission in Massachusetts, with leave to take their wives, but to keep out of the churches.
Stephen Markham and Truman Waite, Huron county, Ohio.
John D. Chase and A. M. Harding, Pittsfield, Vermont.
Amos B. Fuller and Cyrus H. Wheelock, Windham county, Vermont.
John S. Gleason and Henry C. Jacobs, west part of the State of New York.
Marcellus L. Bates and Norman B. Shearer, Sackets Harbor, New York.
Samuel Brown, Maryland.
Lemuel Mallory and George Slater, Washtenau county, Michigan.
Moses Wade, some county in New York, where there has not been any preaching by the Saints.
Chillion Daniels and Ebenezar Robinson, St. Lawrence county, New York.
William Brown and Daniel Cathcart, Pensacola, Florida.
Eleazar Willis, go where he likes.
John Zundall, St. Clair county, Illinois.
Crandall Dunn, Michigan.
George Middow, Waterloo, Canada.
Samuel H. Rogers and Harvey Green, Cumberland, New Jersey.
Daniel Spencer, Canada.
Elias Harmar, Chenango county, New York.
Harvey Tate, Fort Wayne, Indiana; Robert D. Foster and Jonathan Allen, Tioga county, New York.
William Wharton, of Philadelphia, Wilmington, Delaware.
Leonard Soby, Peru, Indiana.
Warner Hoops, York county, Pennsylvania.
F. D. Wilson and George W. Brandon, Dyer and Montgomery counties, Tennessee.
Elisha H. Groves and George P. Dykes, from Terre Haute to Shawneetown and Cairo, on both sides of the Wabash.
Perigrine Sessions, Oxford county, Maine.
John L. Butler and David Lewis, Lexington, Kentucky.
Charles C. Rich, Ottowa, Illinois.
William W. Rust, Worcester county, Massachusetts.
Aaron M. York, Maine.
Asaph Rice, Pontiac, Michigan.
Orson Spencer, New Haven, Connecticut.
Lorin Farr, Connecticut.
Stephen Perry, Amos B. Tomlinson, E. G. Terrill, Amos P. Rogers, Joseph Outhouse, and William Bird, Connecticut.
Francis Edwards and Charles Ryan, Jackson county, Tennessee.
Benjamin Kempton, Wheeling to Mount Vernon, Ohio.
Peter Hess, of Philadelphia, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Noah Curtis and Luman H. Calkins, Wayne county, New York.
Stratton Thornton and Sandford Porter, south-east part of Illinois and Indiana.
Benjamin Leland and Eden Smith, Erie county, Pennsylvania.
Samuel Swarner, Orleans county, New York.
Samuel Parker, York county, Maine.
Jacob E. Terry and Err Terry, Niagara district, Upper Canada.
Edward P. Duzette and Elisha Edwards, Loraine and Huron counties, Ohio.
Edwin Williams, Hunterdon county, New Jersey.
Jacob G. Bigler, Lewis county, Virginia.
Orlando Hovey, Franklin county, Indiana.
William B. Brink, some place in the interior of Pennsylvania, where the elders have not been.
F. B. Jacaway and Samuel Rowland, Adams county, Ohio.
Moses Tracy, Perry county, Illinois.
Alfred Brown, Chautauque county, New York.
Noah Rogers, Peter Lemons, Joseph Mount, B. W. Wilson, Addison Pratt, and John Brown, Vermont.
Samuel C. Brown to labor on the Temple.
James Caroll, Henry county, Indiana.
Levi Stewart and James Pace, Williamson and Gallatin counties, Illinois.
Edwin Clegg, Rock Island, Illinois.
John Carns, Richmond, Indiana.
Edward Bosley and Rodman Clark, Livingston county, New York.
James Hutchins and Daniel Tyler, Natchez, Mississippi.
George M. Chase, Geauga county, Ohio.
John Royce, Sing Sing, New York.
Lyman Whitney, Franklin county, Vermont.
Charles Ryan, Jacob E. Terry, Henry Moore, Samuel P. Carter, William Isherwood, Samuel Rowland, Dorr P. Curtis, Abraham S. Workman, Jeremiah Hatch, James G. Culberston, Samuel Ferrin, Samuel Crane, David Moore, William Brown, Benjamin Barber, Oliver B. Huntington, Edward Clegg, Daniel McRae, William S. Covert, William B. Brink, James Long, and William Empy were ordained elders, with this express injunction, that they quit the use of tobacco and keep the Word of Wisdom.
Almon W. Babbitt was restored to fellowship by the conference.
Elder Curtis Hodges (who has a wife in this place,) was cut off from the Church for his anti-Christian conduct in Warrick county, Indiana.
Elders James Allred, John Snider, and Aaron Johnson were appointed to administer baptism for the dead in the river while the font could not be used.
President Young instructed the elders not to go from church to church for the purpose of living themselves or begging for their families or for preaching, but to go to their places of destination, journeying among the world and preaching by the way as they have opportunity; and if they get anything for themselves, they must do it in those churches they shall build up or from the world, and not enter into other men's labors.
Several elders have been presented to us having traveled extensively the past season, preaching but little or none, living on the brethren and begging for their own emolument. Such elders, be they where they may, far or near, are instructed to repair forthwith to Nauvoo and give an account of their stewardship, and report the amount of leg service performed by them, and on their return be sure to keep out of the churches.
It is wisdom for the elders to leave their families in this place when they have anything to leave with them; and let not the elders go on their missions until they have provided for their families. No man need say again, "I have a call to travel and preach," while he has not a comfortable house for his family, a lot fenced, and one year's provisions in store, or sufficient to last his family during his mission or means to provide it.
The Lord will not condemn any man for following counsel and keeping the commandments; and a faithful man will have dreams about the work he is engaged in. If he is engaged in building the Temple, he will dream about it; and if in preaching, he will dream about that; and not, when he is laboring on the Temple, dream that it is his duty to run off preaching and leave his family to starve. Such dreams are not of God.
When I was sick last winter, some of the sisters came and whispered in my ear, "I have nothing to eat." Where is your husband? "He is gone a preaching." "Who sent him?" said I; "for the Lord never sent him, to leave his family to starve."
When the Twelve went to England, they went on a special mission, by special commandment, and they left their families sick and destitute, God having promised that they should be provided for. But God does not require the same thing of the elders now, neither does He promise to provide for their families when they leave them contrary to counsel. The elders must provide for their families.
I wish to give a word of advice to the sisters, and I will give it to my wife. I have known elders who had by some means got in debt, but had provided well for their families during their contemplated mission; and after they had taken their departure, their creditors would tease their wives for the pay due from their husbands, till they would give them the last provision they had left them, and they were obliged to subsist on charity or starve till their husbands returned. Such a course of conduct on the part of the creditor is anti-Christian and criminal; and I forbid my wife from paying one cent of my debts while I am absent attending to the things of the kingdom; and I want the sisters to act on the same principle.
Elder Orson Hyde said, if there is an elder who does not provide for his family in the unrighteous mammon, shall we commit to him the true riches, the priesthood, missions, etc.? No!
Elder Wilford Woodruff requested the elders to remember in their travels that there was a printing press in Nauvoo, and that it is in the hands of the Church, and wished the elders would procure subscribers for the papers, collect pay for the same, and forward it to the editor in cash.
Elder Heber C. Kimball instructed the elders that when they found a place where the people wanted preaching, they must stay themselves and preach, and not run away somewhere else and write to Nauvoo to have elders sent to the place they had left.
Elders Wilford Woodruff and John Taylor requested that when the elders had built up a church, they would write a brief statement of facts, unencumbered with useless matter, and forward their communication to the editor of the Times and Seasons post paid.
The elders were reminded that they need not expect any attention would be given to unpaid letters directed to the Presidency.
The elders were also reminded that although they were not sent out to be taught, but to teach, yet, if they would prosper in their missions, they must be careful to teach those things alone which would be profitable to their hearers; that they must bear their testimony of the truth of the fullness of the gospel, and preach nothing but faith and repentance to this generation; and that if they presumed to teach to babes those things which belong to men, they might expect to return to Nauvoo as destitute as they went out; but if they adhered closely to the first principles, and taught the "Word of Wisdom" more by example than by precept, walking before God and the world in all meekness and lowliness of heart, living by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord, they might expect an abundant harvest; and as doves return to their windows in flocks when they see the storm approaching, so will multitudes, by listening to their voices, learn of the things which await the earth, and arise and flee, and return unto Mount Zion and her stakes with them who shall be seals of their ministry in the day of celestial light and glory.
BRIGHAM YOUNG, President. W. RICHARDS, Clerk.
I gave a letter of attorney to Benjamin F. Johnson to sell some of the Church property in Macedonia.
Batavia, New York, Conference.