Life of Heber C. Kimball, an apostle

by Orson F. Whitney

"The Spirit of the Lord was with us; and truly the hearts of the Elders were rejoiced beyond measure when we contemplated the glorious work which had been done, and we had to exclaim, 'Blessed be the name of the Lord, who has crowned our labors with such success!' During the conference we confirmed fourteen members and, blessed about one hundred children."

One hundred little children blessed in Preston, Christmas, 1837!

A beautiful and fitting celebration of that blessed day of days, when "unto us a Child was born" to take away the sins of the world; when God descended from His throne and took upon Him flesh, exchanging crown for cross, and sceptred rule for martyrdom, in the cause of man's redemption. Shine out, ye blazing stars, and sun and moon give forth your warmth and lustre! Ye cannot dim the glory, nor vie the matchless love, of Him who set you there to light and cheer, on, onward to celestial heights the world He died to save!

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE WORK OF GOD NOT DEPENDENT UPON MAN—HUMILITY A SOURCE OF POWER—EVERY MAN CHOSEN AND FITTED FOR HIS SPHERE—EXAMPLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE—HEBER "HITS THE ROCK" IN LONGTON—THE APOSTLES VISIT THE BRANCHES PRIOR TO RETURNING TO AMERICA.

Preaching the Gospel and converting sinners unto Christ never yet depended for success upon man's learning or the music of oratory. The unlettered fishermen of Galilee, proclaiming in simple words "Christ crucified," were far more powerful in winning souls from error's ways and melting the hearts of the multitude, than would all the orators have been; the Herods, Ciceros, or Demosthenes, of Judea, Greece and Rome.

The reason is not, as some suppose, that learning and oratory are valueless in the cause of Christ, or necessarily a hindrance, as was Saul's armor upon youthful David. The example of the eloquent and erudite Paul suffices to disprove such a fallacy. The secret is simply this: that God had chosen those humble fishermen, and not the learned orators of the age, for that especial work, and endowed them with power from on high. No man, learned or unlearned, can build up God's Kingdom, except He be with him, and the Holy Ghost work through him. God is the doer of His work, not man, and no flesh can glory in His presence. It was the Holy Ghost in Paul, as it was the Holy Ghost in Peter, not the learning or illiteracy of either, that wrought the wonders of which they were capable.

The Holy Ghost dwells only in hearts that are pure and humble. Humility, next to virtue, is the one grand requisite of a servant of God. Pride and vanity are synonyms of weakness; humility, another name for strength. Men of learning and language, whom nature and education have made "spokesmen," need not be any less humble—though men of little learning and much language are very apt to be. Pride, in rags or in purple, is the offspring of ignorance; while learning is the parent of humility.

The eloquent and learned man, humble and filled with the Holy Ghost, is manifestly more capable, in his sphere, and more successful, than one without his advantages would be. But turn the tables, reverse the conditions, and, in his sphere, the unlearned man, intelligent, God-fearing and inspired, looms a giant, where his more polished brother might seem a pigmy by comparison. The faculty of adapting self to circumstances is invaluable for the missionary to possess. In saying that he was "all things to all men," the brave and faithful Paul did not brand himself a hypocrite. Rather, did he not mean he could accommodate himself to his surroundings; enter into the feelings and sympathies of "all men:" the high, the low, the rich, the poor, the learned and the illiterate; at home in palace or in hovel; feasting in gratitude at luxury's board, or sharing thankfully the crust of poverty; holding spell-bound by his oratory the charmed sages of Athens, or melting his jailor's heart with the simple pathos of his tale.

Such was Paul, the eloquent and learned Apostle; a vessel formed and fashioned, like all others, for his work. It was his mission to be "brought before Caesar"; the mission of most of his brethren to preach, like their Master, "the Gospel to the poor." It will yet fall to the lot of God's servants to stand before kings and rulers, as did Elijah, Nathan and Daniel of old. But in the days of Heber, of Joseph, and of Brigham, the Gospel was chiefly to the poor and humble, who received it gladly and rejoiced in the God of their salvation.