There shall be no more baptisms for the dead until the ordinance can be attended to in the font of the Lord's house, and the Church shall not hold another general conference until they can meet in said house. For thus saith the Lord!
The conference had begun under discouraging circumstances. The weather was unpropitious, and there was some ill health. But before its conclusion a vast number of Saints and visitors from abroad had gathered, and at the last day, when the weather became more favorable, the congregation was a multitude. There was much occasion at this conference for congratulation. The work was prospering at home and abroad. Unanimity prevailed among the Saints in the stakes of Zion; and the missionary Elders were constantly sending up reports of their success among the honest-in-heart.
As the brethren of the Twelve had taken upon their own shoulders many of the burdens which the Prophet had borne in their absence, he was enabled to perform greater labors in the way of general instruction than ever before. Under his direction the temporal interests of the people in Nauvoo prospered greatly. He also read the proofs of the Book of Mormon previous to its being stereotyped.
On the 8th day of November, 1841, the baptismal font in the Lord's house was dedicated, President Brigham Young being spokesman.
The falsehoods concerning the Saints bore evil fruit. Bad men gathered in Hancock and Lee and made depredations upon the property of the Saints and other citizens alike. The thefts perpetrated upon other citizens were attributed to the followers of the Prophet; and the thieves themselves circulated the report secretly that these evil deeds were committed under the direction of Joseph and Hyrum. So industriously were these bad reports scattered and so generally were they believed that in November of 1841, the Prophet and Hyrum gave out to the world their innocence of these deeds, stating that they did not sanction any evil practice in any person whatever, and they warned all people of Nauvoo and the surrounding country against being made the dupes of thieves, plunderers and falsifiers. They declared that the Church would purge itself of all persons connected with any such crime.
Footnotes
CHAPTER LI.
THE POWER OF HUMAN HARMONY—CHANGING HELL TO HEAVEN—JOSEPH AS A SERVANT—HIS SKETCH OF THE CHURCH—A RINGING EDITORIAL—ORGANIZATION OF THE RELIEF SOCIETY—BENNETT BEGINS HIS PLOTS.
Upon one occasion, when the power of persecution was descending upon the people, a threat of the mobocrats was carried to the Prophet. It was this: "We are going to drive the Mormons to hell, this time, sure."