Could the Saints of the present day peruse that record, it would put many of them to the blush to think they had done so little in aid of such works. They would see that, though they have enjoyed peace and plenty, they have done almost nothing towards the temples in our day, compared with what the poor Saints did in building those earlier houses of God.
The Kirtland Temple was built when the Saints were few in number and in great poverty, and though comparatively small in size, the erection of such a building by the tithes and voluntary donations of those who were faithful, was a very great undertaking. That it was finished in so short a time was remarkable, and this fact speaks volumes for the devotion of the Saints of that early day.
When the Nauvoo Temple was commenced, the Saints had increased considerably in numbers, but were, as a rule, even poorer than in the days of Kirtland. They had been persecuted by their enemies, driven from their homes and plundered of their property. Finding a temporary rest in a bend of the Mississippi river, a locality noted for its insalubrity, they had struggled in the midst of malarial sickness and severe privations to establish new homes, and had only just begun to gather a few comforts around them when they were required by revelation from the Lord to build a temple to His name.
Upon that temple, many of the Saints labored month after month, with an energy and interest that only religious zeal can impart. They had learned something of the use and importance of temples, before that building was commenced, but as the work advanced more light was given them from time to time. The Prophet of God would visit the workmen and instruct and encourage them in their labors personally, frequently pronouncing blessings upon their heads for their diligence and faithfulness, and when persecution became so strong that he was obliged to hide from his enemies, he sent the written word to stimulate them in their labors, and explained the doctrine of baptism for the dead, then newly revealed.
While living thus in seclusion, he wrote to the Saints in Nauvoo, on the 1st of September, 1842: "And again, verily thus saith the Lord, let the work of my temple, and all the works which I have appointed unto you, be continued on and not cease; and let your diligence, and your perseverance, and patience, and your works be redoubled, and you shall in nowise lose your reward, saith the Lord of hosts. And if they persecute you, so persecuted they the prophets and righteous men that were before you. For all this there is a reward in heaven."
Again, on the 6th of the same month, he wrote additional words of encouragement, unfolding still farther that glorious saving principle as it had been revealed to him, and roused the workmen to action by this stirring appeal: "Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceeding glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free."
Being thus encouraged, and knowing that the time allowed for building the house was limited, the men worked with a will and determination that made success certain. Though they had to stand guard at night to prevent their enemies from surprising the city during the darkness and slaying its defenseless inhabitants, they did not cease their exertions during the daytime to erect the house of God. Though they went on short rations till some of them actually fainted beside their work, from sheer hunger and exhaustion, still they persevered. Though the mechanics employed upon the temple had tempting offers of abundant work and ready pay if they would go outside of Nauvoo and labor, many of them preferred to remain and work without pecuniary reward in rearing that sacred structure.
The case of one of those workmen will serve to illustrate the self-sacrificing disposition manifested by many of those who labored upon that building, as well as the way their simple wants were sometimes supplied by the Almighty.
Brother L—arrived in Nauvoo from England, his native country, in March, 1844. He was an excellent mechanic, had held good situations and been in good circumstances in the "old country," and his skill as a workman was such as to command ready employment and high wages in any of the large cities of America, had such been his object.
But he had embraced the gospel and received a testimony of its truth, and afterwards the spirit of gathering with the Saints, which enabled him to brook the taunts and ridicule heaped upon him by friends and relatives for his unpopular faith, and resist the pleading of aged parents, who were loath to part with him.