In this region the Saints had commenced gathering, and, having purchased lands, were now busily engaged building up the new stake of Zion. The Church had been purified by its baptism of fire, and much of its human dross "burnt and purged away." Most of its members that remained were of the pure gold, refined by suffering, and throughout the community a better feeling prevailed than ever before.
Heber's first visit to Commerce was on Sunday the 12th of May. On the 25th he again went up the river, with several others of the Twelve, and spent the day in council with Joseph and the brethren. While on the water, standing by the railing of the boat, gazing in admiration at the beautiful site of Nauvoo, Heber observed: "It is a very pretty place, but not a long abiding home for the Saints."
This remark was carried to the ears of Elder Rigdon and his family, who were comfortably quartered in a nice stone house built by Dr. Isaac Galland, from whom the Saints had purchased some of their lands. Heber's reputation as a prophet was by this time pretty well established in Israel, and Sidney, who had had about as much persecution as he could stand, and was in nowise hankering after a repetition of the Missouri scenes, was considerably alarmed at his words, dreading their prophetic potency. At the council, which was held at the house of the Prophet Joseph, Sidney remarked that he had some feelings against Elder Kimball, and then, referring to the prediction of the latter in relation to the city of the Saints, said, petulantly:
"I should suppose that Elder Kimball had passed through sufferings and privations and mobbings and drivings enough, to learn to prophesy good concerning Israel."
With a mixture of meekness and humor, Heber replied:
"President Rigdon, I'll prophesy good concerning you all the time—if you can get it."
The retort amused Joseph, who laughed heartily with the brethren, and
Elder Rigdon yielded the point.
Joseph now advised the Apostles, such as had not done so already, to move their families up to Commerce. Says Heber:
"I immediately went and moved my family up in a wagon, to a place belonging to Brother Bozier, about one mile from Commerce, where I pulled down an old stable, and laid up the logs at the back end of the Bozier house, putting a few shakes on to cover it; but it had no floor nor chinking; and in this condition I moved my family into it; whenever it rained, the water stood near ankle deep on the ground. There were some half dozen families in the Bozier house.
"One night I was awakened out of my sleep by my wife making a noise as if choking; I asked what was the matter; she replied that she had dreamt that a personage came and seized her by the throat and was choking her. I immediately lit a candle, and saw that her eyes were sunken and her nose pinched in, as if she was in the last stage of the cholera. I laid my hands upon her and rebuked that spirit in the name of Jesus and by the power of the holy Priesthood, and commanded it to depart. In a moment afterwards I heard some half a dozen children in different parts of the Bozier House crying as if in great distress; the cattle began to bellow and low; the horses neighed and whinnied; the dogs barked, and hogs squealed; the hens cackled, and the roosters crowed, and everything around was in great commotion. In a few minutes afterwards I was sent for to lay hands on Sister Bentley, formerly the wife of David W. Patten, who was seized in a similar manner to my wife. My wife continued quite feeble for several days from the shock.