Here I was in Iowa, two hundred and thirty miles from St. Louis, fifteen hundred miles from the mouth of the majestic river before me, and two thousand miles west of New York by the ordinary course of travel. It was nine o'clock on Sunday morning; the sun was shining brightly, as usual in this region, and a strong breeze had raised a moderate swell on the face of the stream. No ferryman was to be found, and for a few minutes it was a problem how I should cross to Nauvoo. The problem was soon solved by the appearance of a long and narrow canoe, hewed from the trunk of a tree, and lying close to the bank. In this doubtful-looking craft, thirteen Mormons on their way to the meeting in Nauvoo, proceeded to take their seats. At my request they accommodated me with a place, and shortly afterwards pushed from the shore, and put their paddles in motion. They worked their way with some difficulty, until they reached two islands near the middle of the river. Between these there was no swell, and little wind; but the current ran against us through a narrow passage with the rapidity of a mill-race. Here I thought we should be effectually baffled, and more than once the canoe seemed to yield to the stream. At length the stout sinews of the Mormons prevailed, and we were again in open water. After labouring hard for more than half an hour we safely landed at Nauvoo.
The situation of the place is rather striking. Above the curve of the Des Moines rapids the Mississippi makes another curve almost semicircular towards the east. The ground included within the semicircle is level, and upon this site the city has been laid out. The streets extend across the semicircle east and west, being limited at each extremity by the river. These streets are intersected at right angles by others, which, running northward to the river, are bounded on the south by a rising ground, on the summit of which the temple is in the course of erection. It was to this last-mentioned spot that with my companions I directed my steps. Having ascended the hill, I found myself close to a large unfinished stone building, the walls of which had advanced eight or ten feet above the ground. This was the Temple. The view of the winding Mississippi from this elevation was truly grand, and the whole of the lower part of the town was distinctly seen. I was informed by my companions that the population of Nauvoo was about ten thousand; but subsequent inquiry led me to place the estimate three or four thousand lower.
The temple being unfinished, about half-past ten o'clock a congregation of perhaps two thousand persons assembled in a grove, within a short distance of the sanctuary. Their appearance was quite respectable, and fully equal to that of dissenting meetings generally in the western country. Many grey-headed old men were there, and many well-dressed females. I perceived numerous groups of the peasantry of old England; their sturdy forms, their clear complexions, and their heavy movements, strongly contrasting with the slight figure, the sallow visage, and the elastic step of the American. There, too, were the bright and innocent looks of little children, who, born among the privileges of England's Church, baptized with her consecrated waters, and taught to lisp her prayers and repeat her catechism, had now been led into this den of heresy, to listen to the ravings of a false prophet, and to imbibe the principles of a semi-pagan delusion.
The officiating elders not having yet arrived, the congregation listened for some time to the performances of a choir of men and women, directed by one who appeared to be a professional singing-master. At length two elders came forward, and ascended a platform rudely constructed of planks and logs. One wore a blue coat, and his companion, a stout intemperate-looking man, appeared in a thick jacket of green baize. He in the blue coat gave out a hymn, which was sung, but with little spirit, by the congregation, all standing. He then made a few common-place remarks on the nature of prayer; after which, leaning forward on a railing in front of the platform, he began to pray. Having dwelt for a few minutes on the character and perfections of the Almighty, he proceeded in the following strain:—
"We thank thee, O Lord, that thou hast in these latter days restored the gifts of prophecy, of revelation, of great signs and wonders, as in the days of old. We thank Thee that, as thou didst formerly raise up thy servant Joseph to deliver his brethren in Egypt, so Thou hast now raised up another Joseph to save his brethren from bondage to sectarian delusion, and to bring them into this great and good land, a land flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands, and which Thou didst promise to be an inheritance for the seed of Jacob for ever-more. We pray for thy servant and prophet Joseph, that Thou wouldest bless him and prosper him, that although the archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him, his bow may abide in strength, and the arms of his hands may be made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. We pray also for thy holy temple, that the nations of the earth may bring gold and incense, that the sons of strangers may build up its walls, and fly to it as a cloud, and as doves to their windows. We pray Thee also to hasten the ingathering of thy people, every man to his heritage and every man to his land. We pray that as thou hast set up this place as an ensign for the nations, so Thou wouldest continue to assemble here the outcasts, and gather together the dispersed from the four corners of the earth. May every valley be exalted, and every mountain and hill be made low, and the crooked places straight, and the rough places plain, and may the glory of the Lord be revealed and all flesh see it together! Bring thy sons from far, and thy daughters from the ends of the earth, and let them bring their silver and their gold with them."
Thus he proceeded for perhaps half an hour, after which he sat down, and the elder in green baize, having thrown aside his jacket,—for the heat of the sun was now considerable,—commenced a discourse.
He began by stating the importance of forming correct views of the character of God. People were generally content with certain preconceived views on this subject derived from tradition. These views were for the most part incorrect. The common opinion respecting God made him an unjust God, a partial God, a cruel God, a God worthy only of hatred; in fact, "the greatest devil in the universe." Thus also people in general had been "traditioned" to suppose that divine revelation was confined to the old-fashioned book called the Bible, a book principally written in Asia, by Jews, and suited to particular circumstances and particular classes. On the other hand, they supposed that this vast continent of America had been destitute of all revelation for five thousand years, until Columbus discovered it, and "the good, pious, precise Puritans brought over with them, some two hundred years since, that precious old book called the Bible." Now God had promised to judge all men without respect of persons. If, therefore, the American aborigines had never received a revelation, and were yet to be judged together with the Jews and the Christians, God was most horribly unjust; and he, for his part, would never love such a God; he could only hate him. He said there was a verse somewhere in the Bible, he could not tell where, as he was "a bad hand at quoting," but he thought it was in the Revelation. "If it's not there," he said, "read the whole book through, and you'll find it, I guess, somewhere. I hav'n't a Bible with me, I left mine at home, as it ain't necessary." Now this verse, he proceeded to observe, stated that Christ had redeemed men by his blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and had made them unto God kings and priests. But in America there were the ruins of vast cities, and wonderful edifices, which proved that great and civilized nations had existed on this continent. If the Bible was true, therefore, God must have had priests and kings among those nations, and numbers of them must have been redeemed by the blood of Christ. Revelations from God must consequently have been granted to them. The Old and New Testaments were therefore only portions of the revelations of God, and not a complete revelation, nor were they designed to be so. "Am I to believe," said he, "that God would cast me or any body else into hell, without giving me a revelation?" God now revealed Himself in America just as truly as he had ever done in Asia. The present congregation lived in the midst of wonders and signs equal to those mentioned in the Bible, and they had the blessing of revelation mainly through the medium of that chosen servant of God, Joseph Smith. The Gentiles often came to Nauvoo to look at the prophet Joseph—old Joe, as they profanely termed him—and to see what he was doing; but many who came to laugh remained to pray, and soon the kings and nobles of the earth would count it a privilege to come to Nauvoo and behold the great work of the Lord in these latter days. "The work of God is prospering," he said, "in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales; in Australia, and at the Cape of Good Hope, in the East and West Indies, in Palestine, in Africa, and throughout America, thousands and tens of thousands are getting converted by our preachers, are baptized for the remission of sins, and are selling off all they have that they may come to Nauvoo. The great and glorious work has begun, and I defy all earth and hell to stop it."
A hymn was now sung; and afterwards a tall, thin, New-England Yankee, with a strong nasal twang and provincial accent, rose up, and leaning forward on the railing, spoke for half an hour with great volubility. He said that his office required him to speak of business. They were all aware that God had by special revelation appointed a committee of four persons, and had required them to build a house unto his name, such a one as his servant, Joseph, should show them. That the said house should be called the "Nauvoo House," and should be for a house of boarding: that the kings and nobles of the earth, and all weary travellers, might lodge therein, while they should contemplate the word of the Lord, and the corner-stone, which He had appointed for Zion. That in this house the Lord had said that there should be reserved a suite of rooms for his servant Joseph, and his seed after him from generation to generation. And that the Lord had also commanded that stock should be subscribed by the saints, and received by the committee for the purpose of building the house. The speaker proceeded as follows:—"Now, brethren, the Lord has commanded this work, and the work must be done. Yes; it shall be done—it will be done. The Gentiles, the men of the world, tell us that such stock must pay twenty-five per cent. per annum, and the Lord hath required us to take stock; surely, then, when duty and interest go together, you will not be backward to contribute. But only a small amount of stock has hitherto been taken, and the committee appointed by the Lord have had to go on borrowing, and borrowing, until they can borrow no longer. In the mean time, the mechanics employed on the house want their pay, and the committee are not able to pay them. We have a boat ready to be towed up the river to the pine country, to get pinewood for the edifice. We have a crew engaged, and all ready to start; but we cannot send out the expedition without money. The committee have made great personal sacrifices to fulfil the commandment of the Lord: I myself came here with seven thousand dollars, and now I have only two thousand, having expended five thousand upon the work of the Lord. But we cannot go on in this way any longer. I call on you, brethren, to obey God's command, and take stock, even though you may not dress so finely as you do now, or build such fine houses. Let not the poor man say, I am too poor; but let the poor man contribute out of his poverty, and the rich man out of his wealth, and God will give you a blessing."
During this address, I noticed some of the English emigrants whom I had seen a few days previously on board the steam-boat at St. Louis. They were listening with fixed attention, and, doubtless, considering how many of their hard-earned sovereigns should be devoted to the pious work of building a fine hotel for the prophet and his posterity. The thought arose in my mind, that these earnest appeals for money were designed mainly for the ears of the three hundred green saints who had just arrived.
This address being concluded, two other elders followed in a similar strain. They spoke with great fluency, and appeared equally familiar with worldly business and operations in finance, as with prophecies and the book of Mormon. At length, having, as they supposed, wrought up the zeal of the congregation to a sufficient pitch, they called on all believers in the book of Mormon, who felt disposed to take stock, to come forward before the congregation, and give in their names with the amount of their subscriptions. Upon this appeal, there was much whispering among the audience; and I detected two Mormons, apparently from Yorkshire, in the very act of nodding and winking at each other. However, none came forward; and one of the elders coolly remarked,—that as they appeared not to have made up their minds as to the amount which they would take, he requested all who wished to become stockholders to come to his house the next afternoon at five o'clock.