Life of Heber C. Kimball, an apostle

by Orson F. Whitney

"Joseph Smith stands at the head of this dispensation. His brother Hyrum Smith was associated with him. They were both assassinated. No matter; they are gone. Brother Heber is now gone, and whilst we mourn the loss they rejoice at meeting one with whom they were associated before; for he was the friend of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, and he was the friend of God, and God is his friend, and they are his friends. And as they associated together in time so they will in eternity. It behooves us then not to think so much about dying, but about our living, and to live in such a way that when we shall fall asleep, no matter when, or how it may transpire, that our hearts may be pure before God. When I look upon a man like Brother Kimball, I feel like saying let my last end be like his. Let my life be as spotless, as holy and as pure, that I may stand accepted before God and the holy angels. Our ambition ought to be to live our religion, to keep the commandments of God, to obey the counsel that those lips now silent and cold have so often given to us; to honor our calling and profession, that we may be prepared to inherit eternal lives in the celestial kingdom of our God. May God help us to do so, in the name of Jesus, Amen."

ELDER GEORGE A. SMITH.

"The occasion which has called us together is truly one of mourning; but our mourning is not as the mourning of those who have no hope. Our father, our brother, our President, has fallen asleep. He has fallen asleep according to the promise that those who die unto the Lord should not die, but should fall asleep. Still, the circumstances with which, we are surrounded cause us to feel keenly, deeply this bereavement of his company, of his counsel, of his support, of his society, and the benefit of that wisdom which ever flowed from his lips. Short is the journey from the cradle to the grave, and all of us are marching rapidly in that direction; and the present occasion is certainly calculated to inspire in our minds a desire that in all our lives and actions we may be prepared for that coming event, that we may be prepared to rest in peace, and in the morning of the first resurrection to inherit eternal life and celestial exaltation. The association which we have had with President Kimball has been of long standing. He entered the church early after its organization. In 1832, with President Brigham Young, he visited Kirtland, and made himself personally acquainted with the Prophet Joseph, whose bosom friend he was from the time of their first acquaintance until the day of his death. President Kimball was a man that seemed embarrassed when called upon to speak in public in the early part of his ministry. My first acquaintance with him was in 1833, when in company with President Young he moved his family to Kirtland. The Saints were then building the Kirtland Temple. He had but little means, but he subscribed two hundred dollars and paid over the money. Efforts were being made to build another house, for school and other purposes, and he subscribed one hundred dollars for that also, to buy the nails and glass. That was the first public meeting at which I ever saw Heber C. Kimball. When he was chosen one of the Twelve Apostles, and they were called into the stand to bear their first testimony as Apostles to the Saints, there was an embarrassment and a timidity about his appearance that was truly humble. And when he went abroad to preach, many felt almost afraid to have Brother Kimball preach because he had not as great a flow of language as some others. But it turned out, I am sorry to say, that some of those who were the most eloquent seemed to be those who fell off by the wayside. It was a dark hour around the Prophet in Kirtland, many having apostatized, and some of them prominent Elders, when Brother Kimball and some others were called upon to take a mission to England. He went abroad when some of the first Elders were covered with darkness, and apostasy ran rampant through the Church. He started almost penniless, made the trip across the ocean, introduced the gospel to England, and laid the foundation for the great work that has since been accomplished there, accompanied by Orson Hyde, Willard Richards and Joseph Fielding. Brothers Kimball and Hyde remained in England about one year, and in that time 1,500 were baptized there. It was strange, the power and influence which he had over persons whom he had never before seen. On one occasion he went out five days to some town which he had never visited before, and among people whom he had never seen and who had never seen him, yet in those five days he baptized eighty-three persons. It seemed that there were a power and influence with him beyond that which almost any other Elder possessed. He returned home just in time to find the Saints in their troubles in Missouri. He had hardly got home until the clouds of mobocracy intensified by apostasy again gathered around the Prophet. In a short time after, Joseph was in prison and his counselors were in prison and all were closely guarded.

"During this time President Kimball visited the prison, the Judges and the governor, and exerted himself to relieve the prisoners; and he had a peculiar influence with him, so that he could pass among our enemies unharmed, when others were in danger.

"When the Saints were driven from Missouri, as soon as their feet were planted in Nauvoo, he built with his own hands a log cabin for his family, and started again to renew his mission to Great Britain, with President Young and others of his quorum. It is not my intention to trace his history, but I have culled out these few circumstances to show you his integrity, his faithfulness, and his untiring labors to benefit mankind.

"We are called now to mourn; but we do not mourn as those who have no hope. Brother Kimball was a man who was the son of nature. The literature he loved was the word of God. He was not a man to read novels. He studied the revelations of Jesus. His heart was filled with benevolence. His soul was filled with love; and he was always ready to give counsel to the weakest child that came in his way. Thousands and thousands will remember him with pleasure.

"As we follow him to his last resting place, we must recollect that those men who stood side by side with Joseph Smith the Prophet, who bore with him his burdens, and shared his troubles; who stood shoulder to shoulder with President Young while he faced the storm of apostasy, mob power and organized priestcraft, are rapidly passing away. Brother Kimball was foremost among them. Joseph loved him, and truly it may be said that Brother Kimball was a Herald of Grace. May we all so live that with our brother we may inherit the blessings of celestial grace, is my prayer in the name of Jesus, Amen."

ELDER GEORGE Q. CANNON.

"The scene in which we are participating this day reminds us more strongly than any language can do, how frail is mortal existence, and how slight a tenure we all have upon this life. Two weeks ago, to-day, he, whose lifeless remains we now surround, was moving among us in this Tabernacle; if not in the enjoyment of perfect health, yet in the enjoyment of such a degree of health as not to inspire us with any apprehensions as to his life. If we had been asked, How long is Brother Heber likely to live? the probable answer would have been, he is as likely to live ten or twenty years as any other period. But since then, two weeks, two brief, short weeks, have gone, and we have assembled ourselves together to pay our last respects to his memory. It seemed to me when I entered the building, and sat down and looked upon the congregation, that the greatest eloquence I could indulge in would be silence. Yet it is due to him that our voices should be heard in instruction to those who remain, and in testimony of his great worth; and if possible to spread before them, the great and glorious example which he has set for us, and which if we will but emulate and follow, will result in the attainment of the most glorious blessings of which mortal heart can conceive.

"I have known Brother Heber from my childhood. To me he has been a father. I never was with him but what he had good counsel to give me. And when I speak this I speak what every one who was acquainted with him might say. He was full of counsel, full of instruction, and he was always pointed in conveying his counsel in plainness to those to whom he imparted it.