Shortly after William's return from the east, he was ordained Patriarch of the Church, in the place of Hyrum, who held the keys of that Priesthood previous to his death.
Here ends the history of my life, as well as that of my family, as far as I intend carrying it for the present. And I shall leave the world to judge, as seemeth them good, concerning what I have written. But this much I will say, that the testimony which I have given is true, and will stand for ever; and the same will be my testimony in the day of God Almighty, when I shall meet them, concerning whom I have testified, before angels, and the spirits of the just made perfect, before archangels and seraphims, cherubims and gods; where the brief authority of the unjust man will shrink to nothingness before him who is the Lord of lords, and God of gods; and where the righteousness of the just shall exalt them in the scale, wherein God weigheth the hearts of men. And now having, in common with the Saints, appealed in vain for justice, to Lilburn W. Boggs, Thomas Carlin, Martin Van Buren, and Thomas Ford, I bid them a last farewell, until I shall appear with them before Him who is the judge of both the quick and dead; to whom I solemnly appeal in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
APPENDIX.
A JOURNAL KEPT BY DON C. SMITH, WHILE ON A MISSION WITH GEORGE A. SMITH, HIS COUSIN.
At a meeting of the High Council held in Adam-ondi-Ahman, I was appointed, in company with my cousin, George A. Smith, Lorenzo D. Barnes and Harrison Sagers, to take a mission to the east and south, for the purpose of raising means to buy out the mobbers in Daviess county, Missouri; also to effect an exchange of farms between the brethren in the east, and the mobbers in our immediate neighborhood.
On the twenty-sixth of September, 1838, we took leave of our friends, and started on our mission, in company with Brother Earl, who proposed taking us in his wagon as far as Richmond, a distance of seventy miles. We stopped at Far West to see Brother Joseph. He sanctioned our mission, and bid us God-speed. On our way to Richmond, we stayed over night with Captain Alpheus Cutler, formerly of the United States army. He and his family treated us with much kindness. We also called on John Goodson, who a few days previous had shared freely in the hospitality of my uncle's house, yet he had not the politeness to ask either cousin George or myself to take breakfast with him.
When we got to the landing, we found the river very low, and but one boat up, which was the Kansas. Whilst waiting for this boat, we had an interview with David Whitmer. He had not confidence to look us in the face, for he had become our enemy; yet, when we parted, he shook hands with us quite cordially, and wished us success.
On the thirtieth of September, we went on board the Kansas; this was a very slow conveyance, for one of the wheels was broken; besides, the river being very low, and full of snags and sand bars, we got along but slowly on our journey. Here we traveled in company with General Wilson and Samuel Lucas, besides many others who had taken an active part in the expulsion of the Saints from Jackson County, in 1833. General Atchison was also on board. On arriving at De Witt, we found about seventy of the brethren with their families, surrounded by a mob of about two hundred men. When the boat landed, the women and children were much frightened, supposing that we also were mob. We would have stopped and assisted them what we could, but we were unarmed, and, upon consulting together, it was thought advisable for us to fulfil our mission, so we returned to the boat, and proceeded on our journey. From this onward, the "Mormons" were the only subject of conversation, and nothing was heard but the most bitter imprecations against them. General Wilson related many of his deeds of noble daring in the Jackson mob, one of which was the following: "I went in company with forty others to the house of one Hiram Page, who was a 'Mormon,' in Jackson county. We got logs and broke in every door and window at the same instant; and pointing our rifles at the family, we told them, we would be God d—d if we didn't shoot every one of them if Page did not come out. At that, a tall woman made her appearance with a child in her arms. I told the boys, she was too d—d tall. In a moment the boys stripped her, and found it was Page. I told them to give him a d—d good one. We gave him sixty or seventy lashes with hickory withes which we had prepared. Then, after pulling the roof off this house, we went to the next d—d 'Mormon's' house, and whipped him in like manner. We continued until we whipped ten or fifteen of the God d—d 'Mormons' and demolished their houses that night. If the Carroll boys would do that way, they might conquer; but it is no use to think of driving them without about four to one. I wish I could stay, I would help drive the d—d 'Mormons' to hell, old Joe, and all the rest."