THE YEARS, 1872-74.
Judge McKean.—Journalizing.—Early Church Historians.—Holy Ghost.—Visit to San Francisco.—Funerals of Pitt and Player.—Thomas L. Kane.—Garden of Eden.—Paralysis.—Earl Rosebury.—Fall from a Tree.
According to Elder Woodruff's journal, the year 1872 opened with a heavy snow-storm. The year also found the Saints considerably agitated over the indictments found against Brigham Young and leading men of the Church, on the charge of murder. These indictments had been largely the result of Judge McKean's well-known animosity toward the Mormons, and especially toward the leaders of the Church. He was styled "a judge with a mission." The conduct of Judge McKean was so full of bias, and his rulings so unjust in all matters touching the Mormon people, that he made himself, more or less, a terror to the Latter-day Saints.
In his journal at the opening of 1872, Elder Woodruff said: "Certain men in the nation, high in authority, have set themselves up against the work of God and are determined to destroy it if possible." Elder Woodruff began to predict the failure of such men as McKean to accomplish the ends they had in view. So far as McKean was concerned, his predictions were fulfilled. On the 20th he gave the synopsis in his journal that he made upon the subject of keeping a record of events in the affairs of the Church by those who had responsibilities resting upon them. "There is one subject I wish to speak upon and that is the keeping of a journal with respect to the dealings of God with us. I have many times thought the Quorum of the Twelve and others considered me rather enthusiastic upon this subject; but when the Prophet Joseph organized the Quorum of the Twelve, he counseled them to keep a history of their lives, and gave his reasons why they should do so. I have had this spirit and calling upon me since I first entered this Church. I made a record from the first sermon I heard, and from that day until now I have kept a daily journal. Whenever I heard Joseph Smith preach, teach, or prophesy, I always felt it my duty to write it; I felt uneasy and could not eat, drink, or sleep until I did write; and my mind has been so exercised upon this subject that when I heard Joseph Smith teach and had no pencil or paper, I would go home and sit down and write the whole sermon, almost word for word and sentence by sentence as it was delivered, and when I had written it it was taken from me, I remembered it no more. This was the gift of God to me.
"The devil has sought to take away my life from the day I was born until now, more so even than the lives of other men. I seem to be a marked victim of the adversary. I can find but one reason for this: the devil knew if I got into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I would write the history of that Church and leave on record the works and teachings of the prophets, of the apostles and elders. I have recorded nearly all the sermons and teachings that I ever heard from the Prophet Joseph, I have in my journal many of the sermons of President Brigham Young, and such men as Orson Hyde, Parley P. Pratt and others. Another reason I was moved upon to write in the early days was that nearly all the historians appointed in those times apostatized and took the journals away with them."
"Another subject I wish to say a few words upon here is the spirit of God to men, the Holy Ghost which is given the Saints, the inspiration of the Almighty which giveth the spirit of men understanding. That spirit is the greatest testimony man can possess. His eyes and ears may be deceived in seeing the miracles such as the magicians wrought in the days of Moses, and such as false prophets will work in the last days, but when men receive the Holy Ghost they can not be deceived. It is not in the thunder or in the whirl-wind that we should look for the spirit of God, but in the still small voice.
"I give one instance in which I profited by the spirit. When I was bringing the eastern Saints to this Valley, I arrived in Pittsburg, and there I chartered a steamboat to take the Saints to St. Louis. As soon as I had done it the spirit said to me, 'Don't go on board of that boat.' The captain relieved me and I chartered another. The steamer that I first chartered, after starting down the river, soon took fire, burned the wheels and ropes in two, and nearly all the passengers either burned to death or were drowned. Such an experience is given to many elders in this Church."
This year's journal also contains the accounts of the customary journeys, north and south, to the various communities of the Saints. In Payson, on the 20th day of July, he dedicated the new meeting-house. He was also busy that year on his farm and in his efforts to build up a home at Randolph, in Rich County.
On the 9th of September, in company with George A. Smith, George Q. Cannon, and A. M. Musser, he paid a visit to the Pacific Coast. His purpose was to attend the state fair of California, as he was President of the Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing Society of Utah. His journal contains a long account of the things he saw and the things which greatly interested him.
The following excerpts are taken from it: