,,early ,,scenes ,,in ,,church ,,history4 ,,eighth ,,book ,,of ,,the ,,faith-,,promoting ,,series4 ,designed for the ,instruction and ,encouragement of ,young ,latter-,day ,saints4 ,juvenile ,instructor ,office1 ,salt ,lake ,city1 #ahhb4 ,copyright applied for at the ,office of the ,librarian of ,congress1 at ,washington1 ,d4 ,c41 by ,g4 ,c4 ,lambert4 ,,preface4 ,many deaths have occurred within the last few years among the veteran members of our ,church4 ,numbers of persons have recently passed away who were connected with the ,church during the early years of its existence1 and whose lives were filled with scenes and incidents of the most interesting nature4 ,their wonderful experience so far as known is appreciated by their intimate friends1 in whose memories it is embalmed1 but it will hereafter only be known as tradition1 for1 as a rule1 they have left no written testimony or record of their lives to show to future generations what they have seen or passed through4 ,we have scarcely ever heard of the death of such a person without a feeling of regret that the important scenes of which he was a witness while living were not better known1 and that a definite and accurate account of them had not been written before his death4 ,a short time since we conceived the idea of publishing a volume of the ,faith-,promoting ,series1 entitled ,,early ,,scenes ,,in ,,church ,,history1 to be made up of such incidents of appropriate nature as we could obtain from early members of the ,church4 ,of course we were aware that a single volume of the size contemplated could not describe a tithe of the interesting scenes of a faith-promoting nature with which the early history of the ,church abounded1 but not until we had started the compilation did we realize to the full extent the vastness of the field which we had entered upon4 ,we gathered the incidents contained in the present volume at random 7mostly from verbal narratives71 compiled them very hastily1 with too little regard perhaps for variety1 and feel that we have hardly made a commencement at recounting the early scenes of which a record should be perpetuated4 ,in compiling this volume no effort has been made at selecting scenes of a marvelous or sensational character2 the aim has rather been to mention such incidents as would tend to show how the power of ,god was manifested in behalf of the ,saints in those early days1 and thereby promote faith among the young1 for whose benefit this ,series is published4 ,nor is it to be supposed that such scenes as are herein described have been confined to any particular period of our ,church's history4 ,as wonderful incidents of special providence could be related of the present age as of that which is past4 ,the power of ,god is as manifest now in shaping the destiny of ,his ,saints1 in preserving their lives and in answering their prayers as it ever has been4 ,the faithful never had greater cause to rejoice nor the wicked to tremble than they have at the present time4 ,that the perusal of this volume may cause those into whose hands it may come to be more faithful and devoted to the cause of ,god1 is the earnest desire of ,,the ,,publisher4 ,,contents4 ,,show ,,us ,a ,,sign4 ,my ,sister's ,hip ,broken--,no ,hopes of ,ever ,being ,able to ,walk--,our ,family ,embrace the ,gospel--,scoffers ,demand as a ,sign that my ,sister be ,healed--,elder ,brackinbury's ,designs--,caught in the ,act of ,robbing the ,grave--,my ,brother's ,death--,my ,sister ,healed-,the ,healing ,fails to ,convince the ,unbelievers4 ,,contest ,,with ,,evil ,,spirits4 ,the ,savior's ,promise--,sent on a ,mission ,when a ,boy--,conference in ,burke's ,garden--,a ,girl ,apparently ,stricken ,with ,death--,my ,fright at ,being ,asked to ,administer to ,her--,prompted by the ,spirit to ,cast the ,devil ,out of ,her--,the ,evil ,spirit ,leaves ,her and ,enters ,two ,others--,six ,elders ,contend ,with the ,evil ,spirit for ,thirty-,six ,hours--,its ,final ,banishment4 ,,early ,,experience ,,of ,a4 ,o4 ,,smoot4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,sickly ,condition when ,young--,healed ,according to ,elder ,patten's ,prediction--,labor as a ,missionary with ,elder ,woodruff--,severe ,sickness--,healed ,under the ,administration of my ,brethren--,a ,mission to the ,southern ,states--,removal to ,far ,west--,mission to ,missouri and ,arkansas--,opposed by a ,baptist ,deacon--,terrible ,judgment upon ,himself and ,family--,john ,houston1 the ,infidel--,far ,west ,besieged--,taken ,prisoner4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,married while a ,prisoner of ,war--,property ,confiscated--,removal to ,quincy--,first ,hard ,work--,removal to ,montrose--,mission to ,tennessee--,shot at--,camp1 my ,champion--,a ,lawyer and his ,mob--,appeal to ,masons for ,help--,ready ,response--,camp's ,vengeance on the ,lawyer--,news of ,martyrdom--,return to ,nauvoo--,brigham ,young ,inspired--,another ,mission ,south--,blessings in the ,temple--,journey to ,salt ,lake ,valley4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,almost ,lost in the ,atlantic--,narrowly ,escape the ,saluda ,disaster--,nearly ,dead with the ,cholera--,healed in ,answer to ,prayer--,blown up with a ,keg of ,powder--,a ,sick ,woman ,healed--,elder ,patten's ,remarkable ,prediction ,fulfilled--,a ,man ,almost ,dead ,recovers on ,being ,baptized4 ,,scenes ,,in ,,the ,,british ,,mission4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,elder ,halliday ,applied to for ,help ,by a ,sister whose ,son is ,dying--,not ,able to go1 he ,gives the ,lady his ,handkerchief and ,promised her the ,child ,shall ,live--,the ,child ,revives from ,apparent ,death by the ,woman's ,faith and ,prayer--,preaching in ,penzance--,discouragement and ,want--,strange ,conduct of a ,lady ,attending the ,meeting--,invitation to go to ,st4 ,just--,gift of ,tongues and ,interpretation ,given to ,elder ,halliday1 ,through which he ,receives a ,revelation--,revelation ,literally ,fulfilled4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,elder ,elias ,morris ,falls with a ,scaffold a ,distance of ,thirty ,feet ,without ,being ,hurt--,gift of ,healing ,possessed by ,elder ,abel ,evans--,a ,woman ,healed who had ,her ,face ,eaten ,away by a ,cancer--,storm at ,sea ,rebuked--,a ,broken ,leg ,cured--,a ,broken ,skull ,mended--,fever on ,shipboard ,stopped by the ,prayer of ,faith4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,elder ,john ,parry's ,statement--,his ,brother's ,testimony and ,death--,his ,sister's ,reproof and ,death--,embrace the ,gospel--,his ,sleep ,troubled--,a ,remedy and ,lesson--,orson ,spencer ,healed--,providential ,help--,escape from a ,mob--,cancer in a ,man's ,face ,cured by ,laying on of ,hands--,preserved from ,mobs4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,john ,t4 ,evans' ,statement--,a ,sick and ,helpless ,woman ,healed on ,being ,baptized--,relapse and ,death after ,apostasy--,saints ,required to ,renounce their ,religion or ,lose their ,situations--,cholera ,epidemic--,healed ,according to ,faith--,private ,discussion with a ,malignant ,preacher1 who ,takes the ,cholera and ,begs the ,elders to ,cure ,him--,healed and then ,baptized--,curious ,manner in which ,food and ,lodging were ,provided4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,judgment ,upon ,opposers--,two ,men ,killed by their ,horses--,horrible ,death of ,another--,eight ,preachers go ,down ,after ,opposing ,elder ,evans--,a ,man ,saved from ,bleeding to ,death by the ,prayer of ,faith--,a ,sister ,healed--,woman ,cured of a ,bloody ,issue on ,being ,baptized--,escape the ,fury of a ,mob by the ,spirit's ,warning--,a ,warning ,through the ,gift of ,tongues4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,thomas ,d4 ,giles' ,experience--,his ,head ,crushed and ,split ,open by a ,ton of ,coal ,falling ,upon ,it--,healed by the ,power of ,god--,a ,deaf and ,dumb ,man ,receives ,his ,hearing and ,speech on ,being ,baptized1 etc4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,scene in the ,experience of ,wm4 ,j4 ,smith--,a ,strange ,prophecy and ,its ,wonderful ,fulfillment4 ,,remarkable ,,healings4 ,martin ,h4 ,peck's ,testimony of a ,number of ,remarkable ,cases of ,healing--,a ,broken ,arm1 a ,crushed ,leg1 etc41 ,healed ,immediately4 ,,philo ,,dibble',s ,,narrative4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,his ,early ,life--,conversion--,curious ,signs--,joseph ,removes to ,kirtland--,wonderful ,manifestations--,a ,miraculous ,case of ,healing--,sidney ,rigdon in ,darkness--,joseph ,predicts that the ,evil ,one will ,handle ,him1 and the ,prediction is ,fulfilled4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,removal to ,missouri--,the ,saints' ,guns ,purchased for ,mobocrats by a ,sectarian ,preacher--,attack of the ,mob on the ,whitmer ,settlement--,the ,writer ,shot--,subsequent ,exposure and ,suffering--,critical ,condition--,healed ,miraculously--,how ,zion's ,camp was preserved on ,fishing ,river--,a ,vision4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,militia ,organized at ,far ,west--,liberty ,pole ,struck by ,lightning--,general ,atchison ,defends the ,prophet in a ,lawsuit--,atchison ,removed from ,office for being ,friendly to the ,saints--,far ,west ,beseiged--,leaders of the ,saints ,betrayed for a ,price--,escape to ,quincy4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,rent a ,farm--,sickness--,providential ,recovery--,inspired to ,preach--,removal to ,nauvoo--,death of my ,wife--,second ,marriage--,premonition of ,death--,warning from the ,prophet--,a ,dream and its ,fulfillment--,a ,prophecy and its ,fulfillment--,evil ,spirits ,cast out of a ,man--,joseph ,smith's ,trust in the ,lord4 ,,show ,,us ,a ,,sign4 ,,by ,b4 ,f4 ,,johnson ,,my ,,sister',s ,,hip ,,broken--,,no ,,hopes ,,of ,,ever ,,being ,,able ,,to ,,walk--,,our ,,family ,,embrace ,,the ,,gospel--,,scoffers ,,demand ,,as ,a ,,sign ,,that ,,my ,,sister ,,be ,,healed--,,elder ,,brackinbury',s ,,death--,,warned ,,by ,,the ,,spirit ,,of ,,the ,,body-,,snatchers' ,,designs--,,caught ,,in ,,the ,,act ,,of ,,robbing ,,the ,,grave--,,my ,,brother',s ,,death--,,my ,,sister ,,healed--,,the ,,healing ,,fails ,,to ,,convince ,,the ,,unbelievers4 ,about the year #ahcj1 when ,i was twelve years of age1 ,nancy1 my eldest sister1 was thrown from a horse1 and had her hip broken4 ,the bone was broken so near the socket that it could not be set1 and physicians all agreed that it would be impossible for her ever again to walk upon that leg1 or in any degree to recover its use1 as ossification had taken place without a connection of the bones and they had slipped past each other1 making the broken limb nearly an inch shorter than the other4 ,she walked upon two crutches1 and for years was not able to bring upon the broken limb weight sufficient to hurt the finger of a small child1 if placed under her foot4 ,in the year #ahca1 my brothers ,joel ,h4 and ,david received the gospel in ,amherst1 ,ohio1 and in the fall of the same year my brother ,david brought to us the ,book of ,mormon1 near ,fredonia1 ,state of ,new ,york4 ,soon afterwards my brother ,joel1 with ,a4 ,w4 ,babbitt--then only a boy1 came also1 and was followed by ,elders ,brackinbury and ,durfee4 ,elder ,brackinbury was an earnest and powerful preacher1 and all the ,elders seemed filled with the spirit of the ,lord4 ,many received their testimony1 and my mother and ,lyman ,r4 ,shearman1 a brother-in-law1 were the first to be baptized4 ,priest and people came out to oppose the work1 and would scoffingly ask1 ,why1 if miracles can be performed1 do you not heal ,sister ,nancy8 ,many would also say3 ,if they would only heal ,sister ,nancy we would all believe6 ,my sister was a young woman of excellent mind and character4 ,having a good common education1 she had for some years taught our district summer school1 and1 being religiously inclined1 had joined the ,freewill ,baptist church4 ,like my mother1 who was also a religious woman1 she was not only respected1 but was beloved by all who knew her4 ,but1 although she had obeyed the gospel1 the time had not come for her release from her crutches by the healing power of ,god4 ,the wicked were seeking it for a sign1 as in the days of our ,savior1 when they followed ,him even to ,his crucifixion1 demanding that ,he come down from the cross1 as a sign1 to prove to them that ,he was the ,son of ,god2 yet no sign was given except that of their overthrow and destruction4 ,after a few weeks of successful preaching and baptizing1 ,elder ,brackinbury was taken violently sick1 and1 within a few days1 died of the bilious cholic4 ,to us1 then young and inexperienced members of the ,church1 his death came as a trial to our faith1 as well as a very great grief4 ,to think that so good a man1 in such a field of useful labor1 and far away from his home and family1 should be permitted to die1 and that too so suddenly1 was naturally a test to the faith and integrity of so young a branch4 ,although the grave had closed over his body and we were in deep sorrow1 our enemies were not satisfied1 for while we were assembled in the evening after his burial1 to talk and pray and mourn together1 the spirit of revelation said to my brother ,david that they were then digging up the body of ,brother ,brackinbury for dissection4 ,my brothers with others quickly started1 and proceeding rapidly to the grave about one mile away1 found three men there who had unearthed the coffin and were just dragging the corpse from under its lid4 ,as our party approached they sprang out of the grave and fled4 ,david1 then a stripling of about twenty years1 pursued them1 and like a young lion1 grappled with1 captured and brought back as a prisoner one of the most powerful young men of the country--not only much older but nearly double his size--a student of medicine in our native town4 ,the prisoner was afterwards committed by a magistrate1 and put under bonds to appear at his trial4 ,these1 with other unhappy events1 caused us to desire to leave our native place and gather with the ,saints at ,kirtland1 which we did in the spring of #ahcc4 ,in the summer of that same year it was proposed to build the ,kirtland ,temple1 and as it was designed at first to build it of brick1 my three eldest brothers1 with those of us who were younger1 engaged in making the brick for that purpose2 and there brother ,david1 who was then about twenty-two years of age1 became a martyr to the great and good cause4 ,through his ambition to perform more labor than he was able to endure1 and by over-exertion in procuring the wood1 he bled at the lungs and died the same fall4 ,he bore a faithful testimony of the gospel being again revealed1 and spoke with the gift of tongues with his latest breath1 which was interpreted by ,don ,carlos ,smith1 the ,prophet's brother1 who was present at the time4 ,about this time the ,spirit of the ,lord seemed to be poured out upon the ,saints in ,kirtland4 ,there families often met together to speak of the ,lord1 and the gifts of the gospel were enjoyed in rich abundance4 ,as yet my sister ,nancy had never1 since her hip had been broken1 taken one step unaided by her crutches2 but the time had now come for her release4 ,she was commanded by ,elder ,jared ,carter--then a man of mighty faith--to arise1 leave her crutches and walk4 ,she arose in faith1 full of joy1 and was from that hour made whole1 and never again did she walk upon crutches or lean upon a staff4 ,the same fall ,i returned on a visit to my native town1 full of a desire that our old neighbors1 as well as my young associates1 should embrace the truth2 for ,i felt sure that they would believe my testimony that my sister was healed1 and1 as they had promised1 accept the gospel4 ,i was full of hope1 although ,i was but a boy1 that they would all be converted through my testimony2 but alas6 there were none to be converted--no one to accept the great truths of the gospel4 ,they believed my statement that my sister had become well and was walking unaided upon her broken limb1 yet1 to their understanding1 some natural cause had produced the effect1 and they were unbelievers still4 ,when again1 as a missionary1 ,i returned to the place of my birth and preached to those same persons the gospel1 bearing a faithful testimony1 they were glad to see me1 and treated me with great kindness1 yet no one was converted to the truth1 for signs had failed to make them believe4 ,,contest ,,with ,,evil ,,spirits4 ,,by ,h4 ,g4 ,b4 ,,the ,,savior',s ,,promise--,,sent ,,on ,a ,,mission ,,when ,a ,,boy--,,conference ,,in ,,burke',s ,,garden--,a ,,girl ,,apparently ,,stricken ,,with ,,death--,,my ,,fright ,,at ,,being ,,asked ,,to ,,administer ,,to ,,her--,,prompted ,,by ,,the ,,spirit ,,to ,,cast ,,the ,,devil ,,out ,,of ,,her--,,the ,,evil ,,spirit ,,leaves ,,her ,,and ,,enters ,,two ,,others--,,six ,,elders ,,contend ,,with ,,the ,,evil ,,spirit ,,for ,,thirty-,,six ,,hours--,,its ,,final ,,banishment4 ,just a few minutes before our ,savior took ,his leave of the twelve apostles and ascended on high1 ,he promised that certain gifts and blessings should be enjoyed by the believer4 ,you will find this promise recorded in the #afth chapter of the gospel according to ,st4 ,mark1 #agth and #ahth verses4 ,it is of one of these gifts that ,i wish to speak4 ,when on my first mission 7in the year #ahdd71 in the ,state of ,virginia1 we were attending a conference in ,burke's ,garden1 ,tazewell ,county4 ,there were some ten or twelve ,elders in attendance1 most of whom had just arrived a week or two previous from ,nauvoo1 where they had1 during the ,april ,conference1 been called and set apart for missions in ,virginia4 ,it was ,sunday evening1 some time early in ,may4 ,our conference had just closed1 the last services of which were the ordinances of baptism and confirmation administered to several persons4 ,the ,saints and strangers had dispersed to their homes1 except some of the ,saints who lived at a distance4 ,a few of these had put up with ,colonel ,peter ,litz1 who1 with his family1 were members of the ,church1 and where also several of the ,elders1 myself included1 were going to stay over night4 ,the time in the evening was what would be called early twilight4 ,some of the ,elders had taken an evening stroll4 ,at any rate1 ,i was the only ,elder that was about the house1 when ,sister ,litz came to me 7,i was seated at the time out in the yard7 very much excited1 and said that one of the sisters who had come to stay over night1 was taken suddenly and very severely sick1 and she 7,sister ,litz7 desired me to administer to her4 ,i was only a boy1 yet in my teens1 and with little or no experience1 and had never been called upon1 up to that time1 to administer to the sick4 ,i naturally shrank from the task1 and would have given anything to have had some one to take it off my shoulders4 ,however1 there was no escape for me--no other ,elders were present1 and she insisted that ,i should attend to the ordinance4 ,i followed ,sister ,litz into the house1 and there lay the girl1 stretched upon a bed1 apparently lifeless1 without breath or motion4 ,i asked ,sister ,litz what was the matter with the girl1 but she could not tell4 ,what can ,i do8 ,i thought4 ,what could any one do8 ,nevertheless1 ,i placed my hands upon her head1 knowing full well if the ,lord did not help me1 that ,i would utterly fail in being able to say the first appropriate word1 or exercise the least power4 ,as soon as ,i opened my mouth1 ,i began to cast a devil out of her1 which was farthest from my thoughts before ,i commenced4 ,i commanded it1 in the name of ,jesus ,christ1 to come out of her1 and not to return again4 ,the evil spirit immediately departed from her1 she being restored to her normal condition1 seemingly as well as ever4 ,not ten minutes after1 the same evil spirit entered another girl4 ,but during this interval ,elder ,robert ,hamilton had returned from a walk1 and was present at the time of the second attack1 and was mouth with myself in casting it out4 ,in about the same time it would take a person to walk from one room to another1 a third young sister was attacked1 and in the same way exactly that the two first had been taken2 and our administration had the same effect in relieving her as in the first two cases4 ,this third one was no sooner rid of the evil spirit1 than it returned and took possession the second time of the one last before relieved of its power2 and when it was cast out from this one1 it took possession of the third one again1 and so on1 alternately1 as well as ,i can remember1 for three or four times4 ,but the spirit never returned the second time to the first sister that was attacked that evening4 ,however1 at the end of three or four hours1 we separated the two girls1 by taking one of them up stairs and into a room at the west end of the house1 leaving the other in a room on the first floor at the east end1 making the distance between as far as we could for both to occupy the same house1 which was a large one4 ,in the meantime one of the ,elders from the house of one of the nearest neighbors had come in1 so there were six of us in attendance1 the names of whom were as follows3 ,robert ,hamilton1 ,james ,park1 ,richard ,kinnamon1 ,chapman ,duncan1 ,alfred ,b4 ,lambson and myself4 ,a4 ,b4 ,lambson1 ,james ,park and ,richard ,kinnamon1 with the father of the two girls 7for they were sisters71 watched with the one in the room on the first floor1 while ,robert ,hamilton1 ,chapman ,duncan and myself1 with the mother1 watched with the other in the upper room4 ,while possessed with this evil spirit1 the girls would sometimes lay in a trance1 motionless1 and apparently without breathing1 till we were ready to conclude they were dead1 then they would come to and speak and sing in tongues1 and talk about ,priesthood and the endowments4 ,at other times1 they would choke up1 ceasing to breathe until they were black in the face1 and we thought they would surely die4 ,sometimes they would froth at the mouth and act like they were in a fit4 ,if standing upon their feet when taken1 they would fall to the floor and act like they were struggling for life with some unseen power4 ,altogether1 these cases reminded us of the one recorded in ,mark1 #hth chapter1 #adth to #bith verse1 and other cases recorded in the ,new ,testament4 ,we never made a failure when attempting to cast out this evil spirit from either of the girls4 ,but invariably as soon as one of them was dispossessed1 in the length of time it would take a person to walk from one room to the other1 the spirit would take possession of the other1 but never both at the same time1 and both were operated upon alike1 so we knew there was but one evil spirit to deal with2 yet it seemed impossible to get rid of it1 for the girls were possessed with it alternately for some thirty-six hours4 ,however1 we took advantage of the ,savior's explanation in the #ith chapter of ,mark1 before referred to1 and fasted and prayed4 ,after which1 while the three of us up stairs were administering 7,robert ,hamilton being mouth7 and commanding the devil 7for such we were from the first convinced it was7 to come out of her and return to its own place1 ,elder ,duncan immediately interrupted1 and said to ,elder ,hamilton1 ,name the place2 name the place6 7,see ,matthew1 #hth chapter and #cast verse47 ,this somewhat confused ,elder ,hamilton1 who hesitated1 when ,elder ,duncan called the name of a family who were near neighbors1 and of whom not one us had thought in connection with these cases4 ,elder ,hamilton repeated this name1 and immediately the evil spirit departed1 not only from the girl it then had possession of1 but from the house4 ,and in a moment all in the house felt and knew that they were rid of its power and influence and that it would not again return4 ,we all1 by this time1 knew something of the power of the adversary1 for we had had an actual experience1 indeed1 a contest1 that had left us weak and nearly worn out1 to an extent that an actual corporal struggle with flesh and blood would not have so reduced us4 ,why was the key to its departure given to ,elder ,duncan and not to ,elder ,hamilton1 who was acting as mouthpiece at the time8 is a question my young readers are ready to ask1 as we asked one another at the time1 and were not able to answer1 and which ,i am unable to answer to this day4 ,and why was it necessary to give this demon the privilege to return to torment some other family8 ,this also ,i am unable to answer to my own satisfaction2 but this much ,i can say3 the family referred to was bitterly opposed to the gospel and its blessings1 and to all those who taught1 practiced1 or enjoyed the same4 ,a daughter of this family had been afflicted in a very singular way from her childhood4 ,this girl had1 in company with her parents and all the family 7as they never left her alone71 attended our baptismal meeting on ,sunday evening1 and her family spoke of her being and acting like a new person for two days after attending that meeting1 often speaking of the good effect the witnessing of the ordinance of baptism had had upon her4 ,to all ,i have said in the foregoing1 ,i was an eye and ear witness4 ,all those who are living1 who were present at the time this occurred1 will remember the truth of what ,i have inscribed1 though at the time we kept it from the world4 ,i have written this experience for the benefit of the young ,elders who are now abroad on missions1 and for the benefit of the boys who may hereafter be called on to take missions1 and any others who may glean any good from its perusal2 and also as an evidence of the truth of the promise of ,jesus to believers4 ,,early ,,experience ,,of ,a4 ,o4 ,,smoot4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,sickly ,,condition ,,when ,,young--,,healed ,,according ,,to ,,elder ,,patten',s ,,prediction--,,labor ,,as ,a ,,missionary ,,with ,,elder ,,woodruff--,,severe ,,sickness--,,healed ,,under ,,the ,,administration ,,of ,,my ,,brethren--,a ,,mission ,,to ,,the ,,southern ,,states--,,removal ,,to ,,far ,,west--,,mission ,,to ,,missouri ,,and ,,arkansas--,,opposed ,,by ,a ,,baptist ,,deacon--,,terrible ,,judgment ,,upon ,,himself ,,and ,,family--,,john ,,houston1 ,,the ,,infidel--,,far ,,west ,,besieged--,,taken ,,prisoner4 ,my life has been an exceedingly active1 busy one1 but when my experience is compared with that of many of my brethren there is perhaps nothing very extraordinary about it4 ,i have seen the power of ,god manifested in various ways1 and have had all the testimonies that ,i could ask for of the divine character of the work instituted through ,joseph ,smith1 with which ,i have been connected for almost half a century4 ,but ,i have never seen anything that ,i could call very miraculous1 nor have ,i sought for anything of the kind as an evidence of the truth of ,god's work4 ,to me everything has seemed to come along naturally4 ,and yet when all things are considered1 my whole life might be regarded as miraculous4 ,when ,i reflect upon the precarious condition of my health when a boy1 and the indulgence with which ,i was then treated1 and then upon what ,i have been enabled to endure and accomplish1 through the blessings of ,god since1 there is something rather remarkable about it to me4 ,i was born on the #agth of ,february1 #ahae1 in ,owenton1 ,owen ,co41 ,kentucky4 ,both the town and ,county in which ,i was born were named after my great-uncle1 ,abraham ,owen1 in whose honor ,i was named4 ,he was killed in the battle of ,tippecanoe1 while serving under ,general ,harrison1 who was afterwards ,president of the ,united ,states4 ,abraham ,owen's sister1 my great-aunt1 was ,stonewall ,jackson's mother1 so that ,general ,jackson and ,i were second-cousins4 ,from my early childhood1 almost from my infancy1 ,i was afflicted with a lung disease1 and supposed to be in consumption4 ,indeed1 ,i was so bad a great deal of the time that my life was despaired of4 ,when ,i was about nine years old my death seemed so imminent that my burial clothes were made4 ,however1 ,i rallied somewhat1 but not to be able to do any work4 ,i had a great desire to live1 and also to know if the ,lord had a church upon the earth1 and ,i investigated the various doctrines professed by those with whom ,i came in contact1 but could never feel satisfied to join any of the religious sects4 ,when ,i attained my twentieth year1 and while ,i was still very sickly1 ,elders ,david ,w4 ,patten and ,warren ,parrish visited the part where ,i resided1 as missionaries1 and ,i became convinced of the correctness of the doctrines which they taught and embraced the same1 being baptized by ,elder ,parrish and confirmed by ,elder ,patten4 ,brother ,patten1 in confirming me1 promised that ,i should be healed of my infirmity and become a strong and powerful man4 ,this prediction was verified to the letter2 ,i began to grow strong immediately4 ,the following spring ,i was ordained a deacon and placed to preside over a small branch of the ,church raised up by ,elders ,patten and ,parrish1 and on the #gth of the next ,april ,i was ordained an ,elder under the hands of ,brother ,woodruff and started out with him preaching4 ,i traveled with him in ,kentucky and ,tennessee until the early part of the following winter1 when we left the ,south and went to ,kirtland1 ,ohio1 where ,i attended school with him and studied ,greek and ,latin4 ,the change of climate and a little carelessness on my part brought on an attack of typhoid fever and pleurisy1 from which ,i suffered severely1 and it was thought that ,i could not recover4 ,brother ,woodruff1 however1 who was waiting upon me1 called in ,elders ,brigham ,young1 ,heber ,c4 ,kimball1 ,willard ,richards1 and ,hyrum ,smith1 and the five laid their hands upon me and rebuked the disease and blessed me4 ,while their hands were upon my head ,i fell into an easy sleep1 and when ,i awoke my disease was entirely gone4 ,a few days after1 ,i was advised by the ,prophet ,joseph to return to the ,southern ,states and raise up a company of ,saints and emigrate to ,far ,west1 ,missouri4 ,i accordingly went ,south1 and in the month of ,may had succeeded in organizing a company of two hundred souls with about forty teams and started on our journey4 ,the trip occupied about two months4 ,we immediately set about making homes and soon began to get comfortable surroundings4 ,in ,january1 #ahch1 ,i was called to fill a mission to the southern part of ,missouri and throughout ,arkansas4 ,during this mission an incident occurred which ,i think worth relating4 ,i was preaching one afternoon in the court-house at ,yellsville1 where ,i had also held meeting in the forenoon1 when in the midst of my discourse ,i was interrupted by a ,baptist deacon1 who arose and exclaimed3 ,that young man is not quoting the scripture correctly4 ,i was speaking at the time upon the authenticity of the ,book of ,mormon4 ,i was also enjoying an unusual flow of the ,holy ,spirit1 and felt more calm and collected at this interruption than ,i otherwise would have done4 ,i deliberately opened the ,bible and read therefrom the very passages which ,i had previously quoted verbatim1 and cited the chapter and verse4 ,at this the ,baptist took his seat1 but ,i had not proceeded much farther with my remarks when ,i again had occasion to quote from the scriptures1 and lest ,i again should be found fault with1 ,i opened the ,bible and read from it1 when the deacon1 a second time arose and declared that it was not from ,king ,james' translation of the ,bible that ,i was quoting1 but ,joe ,smith's golden ,bible1 etc4 ,several of the audience immediately ordered him to be still and let the young man proceed1 as they wanted to hear the preaching4 ,again he became quiet1 but soon broke forth in a perfect rage1 said ,i was lying1 and denounced1 in a rather incoherent manner1 ,joe ,smith and his golden bible1 and the ,mormons as chicken thieves and hog stealers1 etc4 ,a number of persons immediately surrounded him as if they intended to thrust him out1 and lest they should use violence ,i began to plead for him1 and requested them to allow him to retire quietly4 ,i added1 however1 that ,i was there on my ,father's business1 commissioned to proclaim the gospel1 and if he did not speedily repent the ,lord would rebuke him and the judgment of ,god would overtake him4 ,at this he turned and rushed from the room almost foaming with rage4 ,he had four drunken sons in the town and he proceeded to hunt them up to incite them to mob me4 ,just then a fire broke out in the ,baptist meeting house1 and on hearing the alarm ,i adjourned the meeting for one hour4 ,in the audience was a ,major ,john ,houston1 a brother of the celebrated ,sam ,houston1 who was in command of a military post near by4 ,he had boarded a few days at the same place that ,i had1 and had therefore become somewhat acquainted with me4 ,he followed the deacon and advised him against molesting me1 telling him if he persisted in it he would have to take him in charge4 ,the deacon concluded to desist but raged1 and cursed ,joe ,smith and the golden bible and the young preacher1 and everything connected with him as he proceeded home1 and on entering his house1 almost immediately fell dead and turned black4 ,in this condition he lay for two days1 no one1 not even his own sons1 daring to go near him until1 a ,campbellite preacher1 who also had happened to be one of my audience1 and who had heard of his condition1 came to me and informed me of it4 ,i went with him to ,major ,houston1 and through his influence some persons were employed to go and bury the dead man4 ,within a week from the time of the deacon's death his wife also died1 and his sons kept up their drunken spree until they had run through four thousand dollars of the money which their father had left and also other property4 ,many of the people of the town regarded this series of calamities as the judgment of ,god1 and even the ,campbellite preacher admitted to me that it had very much the appearance of it4 ,soon after these events transpired ,i returned to a place about twenty miles distant1 to fill a previous appointment1 and while there ,major ,houston was taken sick with the cholera4 ,he felt that he was going to die1 and wanted to have me sent for4 ,i had conversed with him many times upon the subject of religion1 and1 though he professed to be an infidel1 ,i could see that he was pricked in his heart but was too proud to acknowledge it4 ,shortly before he died he made a request that ,i should preach his funeral sermon1 and on my return to ,yellsville ,i did so1 and ,i think ,i never had more of the ,spirit of ,god in preaching in my life than ,i did on that occasion1 infidel though he pretended to be4 ,i returned from this mission in the summer of #ahch1 and soon afterwards the troubles of the ,saints with the ,missouri mobocrats recommenced1 in which ,i became earnestly engaged4 ,after ,far ,west had been besieged by the mob militia under ,general ,clark and we had been compelled to surrender our arms1 ,i was taken prisoner in company with many of my brethren4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,married ,,while ,a ,,prisoner ,,of ,,war--,,property ,,confiscated--,,removal ,,to ,,quincy--,,first ,,hard ,,work--,,removal ,,to ,,montrose--,,mission ,,to ,,tennessee-,,shot ,,at--,,camp1 ,,my ,,champion--,a ,,lawyer ,,and ,,his ,,mob--,,appeal ,,to ,,masons ,,for ,,help--,,ready ,,response--,,camp',s ,,vengeance ,,on ,,the ,,lawyer--,,news ,,of ,,martyrdom--,,return ,,to ,,nauvoo--,,brigham ,,young ,,inspired--,,another ,,mission ,,south--,,blessings ,,in ,,the ,,temple--,,journey ,,to ,,salt ,,lake ,,valley4 ,on the #aath of ,november1 while still a prisoner of war1 ,i was married1 which might be considered as a proof that ,i had not lost hope4 ,i was fortunate in securing a wife who was zealous and devoted to her religion and ready to sacrifice or endure anything to further its interests4 ,after the troops were withdrawn from ,far ,west ,i visited my farm two miles south of the town1 to look after my stock which ,i had left there1 and found that all my earthly possessions save my real estate had been confiscated by the army4 ,on visiting the late camp-ground of the army ,i found the heads of eleven of my oxen which had been butchered1 and there was no trace left of my sheep1 swine1 etc4 ,brother ,john ,butler1 who had been obliged to flee to the north to save his life1 had left his family in my charge4 ,he had a span of very poor horses and an old wagon4 ,i loaded the wagon up with his wife and five children and what few goods ,i had left1 which consisted of one trunk full of clothes besides what my wife and ,i wore4 ,i managed to find one of my horses which the mob had taken and used in such a shocking manner that his back was skinned almost from his withers to his tail4 ,this animal ,i hitched on ahead of ,brother ,butler's horses1 and by those of us walking who were able to do so1 we slowly made our way to ,quincy1 ,illinois1 in the depth of winter4 ,on arriving there ,i went to work carrying the hod up a four-story building--really the first hard work ,i had ever done1 to make another start in life1 while my wife assisted by taking in sewing4 ,in the month of ,july ,i removed to ,montrose1 opposite ,commerce4 ,in ,may of the following year ,i went on a mission to ,tennessee1 from which ,i returned the following ,october1 and again the next year1 ,i went to ,charleston1 ,south ,carolina1 being instructed to introduce the gospel there4 ,i spent all the money ,i had in renting halls and publishing placards announcing my meetings1 but although ,i had large audiences1 and numbers of persons came to me1 ,nicodemus-like--by night1 to inquire about the gospel1 ,i failed to make one convert4 ,i returned to ,nauvoo from this mission in #ahdb4 ,in the summer of #ahdc1 ,i took a trip through southern ,illinois and north-western ,kentucky1 in the interest of the ,nauvoo ,house1 and in ,may1 #ahdd1 ,i again went south to ,tennessee to electioneer for ,joseph ,smith as candidate for the ,presidency of the ,united ,states4 ,on arriving at ,dresden1 ,tenn41 ,i rented the court-house to hold meeting in1 and while in the act of preaching to a good-sized audience1 a mob gathered outside and a shot was fired at me through the window4 ,the bullet passed near my head and lodged in the ceiling1 and immediately afterwards a few brickbats were also thrown through the window4 ,considerable excitement followed and the audience began to scatter1 when a man by the name of ,camp1 somewhat noted as a fighting character1 arose and called on the fleeing people to stop4 ,he told them if they would only sit and listen to the preaching1 he would go out and look after the persons who were creating the disturbance4 ,about two-thirds of the audience again became seated and he went outside and procured a shot-gun1 with which he patroled around the courthouse the remainder of the evening1 and there was no further trouble4 ,another meeting was announced for the following day1 but before it commenced a lawyer of the town laid his plans to break it up4 ,i had not long been speaking when he1 at the head of a mob of two hundred men1 marched into the room and demanded that ,i should cease speaking1 as they had come to attend to my case4 ,in this emergency1 and for the only time in my life in public1 ,i made use of a masonic sign calling for help1 when lo6 a number of persons sprang up to assist me4 ,the lawyer was commanded to give his reasons for interfering with me1 which he proceeded to do by delivering a most abusive and slanderous speech4 ,i finally commanded him to sit down and he did so very suddenly1 and the masons who were present1 who were very numerous and influential1 gave him to understand that he would not be allowed to molest me4 ,i continued my remarks1 and at the close of the meeting ,mr4 ,camp took vengeance on the lawyer by knocking him down and kicking him around the court-house yard4 ,from ,dresden ,i proceeded to ,paris1 in the same ,state1 where ,i contracted for the publication of #a1jjj copies of ,joseph ,smith's ,powers and ,policy of the ,government of the ,united ,states4 ,after the printing had been done and paid for1 the printer informed me that if ,i attempted to circulate the pamphlets it would be likely to land me in the penitentiary1 as the views expressed therein1 in regard to freeing the slaves1 would be considered treasonable and contrary to law4 ,on consulting a lawyer of the place1 a boyhood friend of mine1 ,i found that he held the same opinion1 and ,i therefore suppressed the whole edition4 ,i was at ,father ,church's1 on ,duck river1 in ,hickman ,co41 ,tenn41 when ,i received the news of the martyrdom of ,joseph and ,hyrum ,smith1 six days after the consummation of that bloody deed4 ,i immediately proceeded down ,duck river to the ,tennessee river1 by canoe1 and1 on arriving there1 in company with three other ,elders1 purchased a skiff1 and made my way to ,paducah on the ,ohio river1 from which place ,i took steamer to ,nauvoo4 ,on arriving in ,nauvoo ,i found that ,sidney ,rigdon was striving to establish his claim to the leadership of the ,church1 and proffering various unheard-of offices to such persons as would rally around his standard4 ,however1 on the arrival of ,president ,young and the other ,apostles from their missions1 his claims were soon set aside4 ,i was present at the meeting held in ,nauvoo on the occasion when ,president ,young assumed the leadership of the ,church1 and can testify with hundreds of others that he spoke by the power of ,god on that occasion and that he had the very voice and appearance of ,joseph ,smith4 ,the following autumn ,i was sent by ,president ,young to ,kentucky1 ,tennessee1 ,alabama1 ,georgia and ,mississippi to raise means for the building of the ,temple and also to induce the ,saints scattered through that region to migrate to ,nauvoo and make preparations to journey westward4 ,i returned to ,nauvoo in the summer of #ahde1 bringing a large number of the ,saints with me4 ,i also left many others partially prepared to follow1 who were subsequently gathered up by ,elders ,john ,brown and ,wm4 ,crosby and led westward1 by way of ,arkansas1 to ,salt ,lake ,valley4 ,after my return to ,nauvoo ,i labored on the ,temple until it was so far completed as to admit of the ordinances being performed in it1 when ,i had the blessed privilege of entering it and receiving my endowments and having wives sealed to me4 ,i also at that time had the son of my first wife 7who1 ,i should have mentioned1 was a widow when ,i married her7 adopted to me by the ,priesthood1 and he has ever since borne my name and been recognized and treated as one of my own sons4 ,i labored about three months in the temple in administering the ordinances of the house of ,god to others1 and in ,april1 #ahdf1 ,i left ,nauvoo and started westward with quite a large company of my southern friends4 ,on arriving at ,winter ,quarters ,i was ordained a ,bishop and appointed to preside over a ,ward1 and spent the winter in building cabins to shelter the people and in looking after the wants of the poor4 ,in the spring of #ahdg ,i was appointed to organize and lead westward a company of ,saints having one hundred and twenty wagons4 ,i chose as my assistants ,major ,russell and ,geo4 ,b4 ,wallace4 ,we arrived in ,salt ,lake ,valley on the #bdth day of ,september4 ,thus passed the first twelve years of my connection with the ,church--twelve years of rough but not unprofitable experience for me1 considering the many lessons ,i learned and the satisfaction ,i enjoyed in contemplating my labors4 ,during that period ,i had become strong and healthy1 and through the blessings of ,god1 had been enabled1 with the help of my wife and boy1 to earn a subsistence and accumulate some property1 notwithstanding the many missions ,i had filled and the losses of property ,i had sustained4 ,since that time ,i never have performed a regular preaching mission abroad1 although in #ahea1 ,i was sent to ,england1 for that purpose2 but on arriving there it was decided to have me return to lead the first company emigrated by the ,perpetual ,emigration ,fund across the plains1 and after a stay of thirty days in that country ,i did so4 ,i filled various business missions1 however1 in which ,i crossed the plains thirteen times with ox and mule teams4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,almost ,,lost ,,in ,,the ,,atlantic--,,narrowly ,,escape ,,the ,,saluda ,,disaster--,,nearly ,,dead ,,with ,,the ,,cholera--,,healed ,,in ,,answer ,,to ,,prayer--,,blown ,,up ,,with ,a ,,keg ,,of ,,powder--,a ,,sick ,,woman ,,healed--,,elder ,,patten',s ,,remarkable ,,prediction ,,fulfilled--,a ,,man ,,almost ,,dead ,,recovers ,,on ,,being ,,baptized4 ,during my experience ,i have seen the power of ,god manifested upon various occasions in preserving my life2 indeed1 considering the many narrow escapes ,i have had1 it might be almost thought that ,i have had a charmed life4 ,on my return from ,england in #ahec1 on board the new steamer ,pacific1 we encountered a severe storm1 in which the deck was swept clear of rigging1 the deck cabin1 one of the wheels1 both wheel houses and the bulwarks4 ,the steamer was entirely submerged in the sea at one time1 and had she not been very well built she would never have come to the surface again4 ,it looked like a precarious time1 but ,i felt an assurance that the vessel would be saved1 and in the midst of all the excitement which prevailed among the crew and passengers ,i felt quite calm4 ,i had seventeen thousand dollars in gold in my possession1 and ,i did not even fear that ,i would lose that4 ,our preservation1 however1 was certainly providential1 for the vessel was in a terribly dilapidated condition1 but we finally arrived safely in ,new ,york with the wrecked vessel1 after a voyage of sixteen days4 ,i subsequently had a very narrow escape on the occasion of the ,saluda disaster4 ,i had purchased the supplies for my company to make its overland journey with1 except cattle1 at ,st4 ,louis1 and had decided to go farther up the river to buy the stock1 when ,eli ,b4 ,kelsey came to me to consult me in regard to chartering the ,saluda to convey an independent company of ,saints up the river4 ,i went with him to examine the boat1 and on finding that it was an old hulk of a freight boat1 fitted up with a single engine1 ,i strongly advised him against having anything to do with it4 ,he seemed to be influenced in making choice of it entirely by the fact that he could get it cheaper than a better one2 but in my opinion it seemed folly1 for in addition to the danger of accident1 the length of time likely to be occupied in making the journey would more than counterbalance what might be saved in the charge for transit4 ,however1 he decided to charter it1 and then both he and the captain urged me strongly to take passage with them1 offering to carry me free of cost if ,i would only go1 but ,i could not feel satisfied to do so4 ,i followed a few days afterwards on the ,isabella1 and overtook them at ,lexington1 where the ,saluda was stopped by the float-ice and was unable to proceed farther4 ,i went on board of her to visit the ,saints 7who were in charge of ,d4 ,j4 ,ross1 ,eli ,b4 ,kelsey having gone ashore to purchase cattle71 and left just before the last plank was drawn in1 preparatory to attempting to start4 ,i had not walked to exceed two hundred yards after leaving the ,saluda before the explosion occurred1 and on turning to look in the direction of the the ill-fated boat ,i saw the bodies of many of the unfortunate passengers and various parts of the boat flying in the air in every direction4 ,fortunately for the ,saints on board1 they were mostly on the deck of the boat and pretty well towards the stern1 and they consequently fared better than those who were below1 or on the forepart of the boat1 which was blown entirely to pieces4 ,as it was1 however1 upwards of twenty of the ,saints were lost or subsequently died of their wounds4 ,my own preservation ,i can only attribute to the providence of the ,almighty1 for if ,i had remained a moment on the wharf to see the boat start1 as would have been very natural for a person to do1 ,i would have been blown into eternity as those were who stood there4 ,i shall never forget the kindness of the citizens of ,lexington in caring for the living and burying the dead4 ,the ,lord certainly inspired them to do all that sympathy and benevolence could suggest in aid of the afflicted4 ,the city council set apart a piece of ground in which to bury the ,saints who had died1 and ,william ,h4 ,russell1 the great government freighter1 and many other prominent citizens did all they could to comfort and help the afflicted survivors4 ,besides their devoted attention1 their contributions in aid of the ,saints amounted to thousands of dollars4 ,the disaster described is really the only accident of any consequence by water that has befallen a company of ,latter-day ,saints in emigrating from the old countries1 and there was much reason to believe that ,providence was in their favor to a great extent even in that case1 or a much greater number would certainly have lost their lives4 ,i remained at ,lexington about eight days looking after the interests of the ,saints and purchasing stock1 after which ,i returned to ,st4 ,louis1 where ,i met the company of ,saints ,i was to conduct across the plains4 ,on reaching ,atchison1 our starting point for the overland journey1 the company was stricken with the cholera4 ,there were over forty cases1 and of these some fifteen proved fatal4 ,numbers were healed instantaneously through the prayer of faith when the ,elders laid their hands upon them1 although apparently near death's door2 others gave way entirely to fear1 failed to exercise faith and soon died4 ,after we had started upon our journey and when the last person who had been afflicted had recovered1 ,i was prostrated with the same dread disease4 ,the train was stopped and the whole company fasted and prayed for two days for my recovery1 but ,i continued growing worse until my limbs and the lower portion of my body were apparently dead1 but then the faith of the ,saints and the power of the ,almighty prevailed in my behalf and ,i recovered4 ,i had1 however1 lost seventy-five pounds in weight within a few days4 ,another remarkable instance in which the providence of the ,almighty was manifest in my preservation occurred in the following ,may4 ,i was emptying a small keg of powder and standing in a stooping position right over it1 and as it did not run out very freely ,i shook the keg1 when it exploded4 ,the staves and pieces of hoops were scattered in every direction1 some pieces being afterwards found at least eight rods distant4 ,i was blown into the air and my face and hands most terribly burned4 ,it was a marvel that the staves of the keg were not driven through my body1 but it did not appear that a single one had struck me4 ,the whole of the skin came from my face and hands1 yet1 wonderful to relate1 there is not now a mark of powder about my face1 and my eyesight1 the loss of which ,i was most fearful of1 was not at all impaired by it4 ,this series of narrow escapes which ,i have related ,i passed through within a little over a year2 and it really seemed to me that ,satan was bent upon my destruction4 ,the fact that my life was preserved through them was an evidence to me of the power of ,god and that ,he had a purpose in allowing me to live4 ,i have witnessed the power of ,god displayed in the healing of persons who were sick in hundreds of instances1 in some cases that would probably be considered by the world as very wonderful1 but to which the ,saints1 whose experience has been similar to my own1 had become accustomed4 ,i think ,elder ,david ,w4 ,patten possessed the gift of healing to a greater degree than any man ,i ever associated with4 ,i remember on one occasion when ,i was laboring with him as a missionary in ,tennessee1 he was sent for to administer to a woman who had been sick for five years and bed-ridden for one year and not able to help herself4 ,brother ,patten stepped to her bedside and asked her if she believed in the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,she replied that she did4 ,he then took her by the hand and said1 ,in the name of ,jesus ,christ1 arise6 ,she immediately sat up in bed1 when he placed his hands upon her head and rebuked her disease1 pronounced blessings upon her head and promised that she should bear children4 ,she had been married for seven years and had never had any children1 and this promise seemed very unlikely ever to be fulfilled4 ,but she arose from her bed immediately1 walked half a mile to be baptized and back again in her wet clothes4 ,she was healed from that time1 and within one year became a mother1 and afterwards bore several children4 ,i was myself healed under his administration in a manner which appeared to me very remarkable at that time4 ,while traveling ,i was taken very sick and was forced to seek entertainment at the house of an infidel4 ,elder ,patten was desirous of administering to me and1 by way of a pretext1 asked the privilege of praying4 ,his request was granted and he knelt beside the bed upon which ,i was lying1 and1 without the family noticing it1 placed his hand upon my head4 ,while his hand was upon me1 ,i felt the disease pass off from my system as palpably as ,i ever experienced anything in my life1 and before he arose from his knees ,i was as well as ,i ever had been1 and able to arise and eat my supper4 ,i remember a rather remarkable instance of healing that occurred at ,winter ,quarters1 which ,i think worth relating3 ,during the winter of #ahdf-g while the ,saints were encamped on the banks of the ,missouri there was a great deal of sickness among them1 and many died4 ,among others who were afflicted was a man by the name of ,collins1 who had followed up the ,church for some time on account of his wife being a member1 but who never felt quite satisfied to embrace the gospel1 although he never opposed the work4 ,when he was taken sick it was not thought by his friends that he could recover1 as he had appeared to be sinking rapidly under the effects of the disease1 and for some time he lay in a semi-unconscious state1 from which it was feared he would never rally4 ,however1 he finally regained consciousness and looked around1 when ,i asked him if he had any message to leave before he died4 ,he immediately replied that it would not do for him to die then1 as he had not been baptized1 and urged very strongly to be taken right down to the river to receive this ordinance4 ,yielding to his solicitations1 some of the brethren brought the running gear of a wagon with a few boards on it1 up to the door of the cabin in which he was living1 and his bed1 with him lying upon it1 was carried out and placed on the wagon4 ,when we had proceeded part way down to the river the wagon tire commenced running off one of the wheels and a halt was made to hammer it on again4 ,on noticing the wagon stop and hearing the hammering1 he inquired what was the matter1 and when he was informed that the tire was running off1 he replied impatiently1 ,oh1 never mind the tire2 go on1 or ,i'll die and go to hell yet before ,i'm baptized6 ,we proceeded on with him till we reached the river1 which at that time was frozen over1 but the ice had been cut away near the shore in order that our animals might drink4 ,there he was lifted from his bed1 carried into the water and ,i baptized him for the remission of his sins and his restoration to health4 ,after being taken out of the water a blanket was wrapped around him and he was seated for a moment to rest upon a block of ice upon the shore4 ,seeing the brethren turning the wagon around1 he inquired what they were going to do4 ,they replied that they were going to put him on the bed and haul him back home1 when he arose to his feet and assured them that they need not go to that trouble1 for he could walk back1 and he did so1 and from that time became a healthy man4 ,,scenes ,,in ,,the ,,british ,,mission4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,elder ,,halliday ,,applied ,,to ,,for ,,help ,,by ,a ,,sister ,,whose ,,son ,,is ,,dying--,,not ,,able ,,to ,,go1 ,,he ,,gave ,,the ,,lady ,,his ,,handkerchief ,,and ,,promises ,,her ,,the ,,child ,,shall ,,live--,,the ,,child ,,revives ,,from ,,apparent ,,death ,,by ,,the ,,woman',s ,,faith ,,and ,,prayer--,,preaching ,,in ,,penzance--,,discouragement ,,and ,,want--,,strange ,,conduct ,,of ,a ,,lady ,,attending ,,the ,,meeting--,,invitation ,,to ,,go ,,to ,,st4 ,,just--,,gift ,,of ,,tongues ,,and ,,interpretation ,,given ,,to ,,elder ,,halliday1 ,,through ,,which ,,he ,,receives ,a ,,revelation--,,revelation ,,literally ,,fulfilled4 ,the various gifts of the gospel were perhaps enjoyed to as great an extent by the ,elders who labored in ,england in an early day as they have been by any people and in any place1 at least in this dispensation4 ,nor were the manifestations of these gifts confined to the ,elders who were engaged in the ministry1 for their converts also enjoyed them to a very great extent4 ,many of them through their extraordinary faith and humility called forth the blessings and power of ,god in various ways4 ,the gift of healing was very manifest1 and scores of instances might be related wherein persons were healed in a most miraculous manner4 ,bishop ,george ,halliday1 of ,santaquin1 who labored extensively as a missionary in his native country in an early day1 relates an incident of this kind4 ,upon a warm ,sunday evening1 after he had been preaching to an audience in ,bristol1 he was accosted by a ,mrs4 ,ware1 a sister in the ,church1 who told him she had a son extremely sick and thought to be dying4 ,she begged him to go home with her and administer to it4 ,she lived three miles distant1 on ,durham ,down4 ,it was quite late in the evening and he was so extremely tired that he scarcely felt able to comply with her request2 and yet he did not like to decline4 ,all at once he felt impressed to say3 ,here1 ,sister ,ware1 you take my handkerchief and go home to your child and lay it on him wherever he seems to be affected1 praying to the ,lord to heal him4 ,if you do this ,i will promise you that he will recover4 ,with full faith the good lady took the handkerchief and departed4 ,on reaching her home she was met at the door by her daughters and friends1 who informed her that her son was dead4 ,no1 said she1 ,i cannot believe it6 ,brother ,halliday has promised me that he shall live1 and ,i have his handkerchief to lay upon him4 ,she hastened to the boy and did as she had been directed to1 and the child1 which a few minutes before had been inanimate1 began to show signs of life4 ,the next morning he was able to come down to breakfast1 and soon regained his wonted health4 ,he afterwards emigrated to ,utah4 ,brother ,halliday also relates another instance in which the power of ,god was displayed in a rather remarkable manner1 near the same time3 ,he and ,elder ,john ,chislett were sent to ,penzance1 ,cornwall1 to introduce the gospel to the inhabitants4 ,they met with no encouragement1 yet they did not feel justified in leaving the place until they had given the people a thorough warning4 ,their funds were so low that the two of them were forced to live on a penny's worth of bread and a penny's worth of soup per day2 yet their faith was strong1 and they spent much of their time in prayer4 ,finally1 as a last resort1 in the effort to awaken an interest in the message they had to bear to the people1 they decided to give a course of public lectures4 ,elder ,halliday pawned his watch to raise the necessary money to rent a hall and publish some placards announcing their meetings1 and on the first evening appointed they were gratified at seeing a few come to hear them4 ,among the audience they noticed particularly a well-dressed gentleman and lady1 the latter of whom commenced weeping almost as soon as she entered the hall and continued to do so as long as the meeting lasted4 ,the ,elders1 of course1 could assign no reason for this peculiar conduct while the meeting was in progress1 nor were they any more enlightened when1 at the close of the services1 the lady came forward with her husband and invited them to visit her at her home at ,st4 ,just1 about six miles distant4 ,this was the first invitation they had received from anyone in the place1 and they accepted it joyfully1 and would willingly have gone home with her that night1 but1 to their disappointment1 she named the following ,wednesday as the time when she would be pleased to receive them4 ,nothing further passed between them1 but it was evident that a favorable impression had been made upon her1 and that she was a woman of intelligence and refinement4 ,while anticipating the pleasure of visiting her and waiting for the day to arrive1 the ,elders continued to subsist upon their scanty fare1 and spent their time in vainly endeavoring to proselyte among the citizens of ,penzance4 ,wednesday morning came and with it a drenching rain storm1 through which the ,elders tramped the whole six miles1 hungry and penniless4 ,shortly before arriving at ,st4 ,just1 and while they were crossing a plowed field1 with the mud clinging to their boots so they could scarcely walk1 the ,lord deigned to comfort them by giving ,elder ,halliday the gift of tongues and the interpretation of the same1 in which it was made known to him that the lady whom they were going to visit had been favored with a vision in which she had seen himself and ,elder ,chislett2 also that she was the owner of several houses1 one of which she was going to allow them to use to hold meetings in1 and that he was going to baptize her that very night4 ,as soon as this had passed through his mind1 for he had not spoken aloud1 but to himself1 he joyfully slapped his companion on the shoulder and exclaimed1 ,cheer up1 ,john6 ,i have had a revelation6 ,he then proceeded to relate all that had been revealed to him4 ,when they arrived at the house they were drenched as badly as if they had been in a river4 ,even their boots were full of water1 so that when they pulled them off and turned the tops downward it ran out of them in a stream4 ,their friend1 however1 had been anxiously looking for them1 and had prepared a blazing fire to warm them and spread the table with tempting food4 ,she also proposed for them to change their clothes as far as she could supply them with dry ones to put on from her husband's wardrobe4 ,but1 said she1 ,i can hardly wait for you to change your clothes1 ,i am so anxious to talk to you4 ,oh1 you need not be in such a hurry1 remarked ,elder ,halliday1 for ,i know what you are going to say6 ,she looked at him in surprise and inquired how he knew4 ,why1 he said1 ,i have had it revealed to me on the way here4 ,he then related to her every particular as it had been made known to him1 until he got to that part relating to her baptism1 when she interrupted him by exclaiming in surprise to her husband3 ,there1 now1 is that not just as it occurred8 ,how could he have learned that8 for you know ,i have not talked with anyone but you about it6 ,she then admitted that the week previous1 while lying awake in bed1 she saw a bright light in the room and awoke her husband and pointed it out to him4 ,he also saw it1 and it passed around the room in the direction of ,penzance1 to which place it led her in her mind1 and there she saw two men trying to raise a standard1 in which labor the people who looked on seemed unwilling to lend a helping hand4 ,she reproached them for their lack of interest1 and took hold herself to assist4 ,this vision was so plain that she afterwards related the whole of it to her husband and even described the appearance of the men4 ,then she could not rest until she had1 in company with her husband1 visited ,penzance and attended the lecture she there saw announced4 ,as soon as she entered the hall and saw the two ,elders she recognized them and could not refrain from crying4 ,as to the other part of what had been revealed to him1 she said it was true that she was the owner of a row of houses1 which she pointed out to the ,elders1 and that the last one was a school-house in which her husband taught school1 and which they were welcome to use as a meeting house as long as they wanted to free of charge4 ,but1 said ,elder ,halliday1 that is not all that the ,lord revealed to me4 ,he told me that ,i was going to baptize you before ,i went to bed to-night1 and now ,i want your husband to go and find some water for that purpose4 ,brother ,halliday1 in telling what had been revealed to him1 felt a good deal as he imagined the prophet ,jonah must have felt when the ,lord commanded him to go to ,nineveh and declare the destruction of that city4 ,he had before him the fear of being declared a false prophet1 and it required a great deal of faith in him to tell it1 especially that part relating to her baptism4 ,however1 he was soon relieved on that score1 for the good lady expressed her readiness and anxiety to go immediately and be baptized4 ,but her husband declared there was not a stream or pond in that region deep enough to baptize a person in1 and it would be no use for them to think of doing such a thing that day4 ,is there not a ditch or hollow anywhere around here that is deep enough8 said ,elder ,halliday1 ,please go and see4 ,the husband complied with a dubious look on his face1 while the ,elders proceeded to change and dry their clothes1 and soon he returned and reported that the heavy shower which had fallen had so filled all the ditches and low places that they would have no difficulty in finding water deep enough4 ,within two hours from the arrival of the ,elders the lady was baptized and confirmed1 she being the first one to embrace the gospel in the region known as ,land's ,end4 ,the ,elders ever found a home at her house and enjoyed the privilege of holding meetings in her school-house for years1 and she remained faithful1 but her husband1 although he was kind to the ,elders and willing to entertain them1 never joined the ,church4 ,he was an infidel and an astrologer4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,elder ,,elias ,,morris ,,falls ,,with ,a ,,scaffold ,a ,,distance ,,of ,,thirty ,,feet ,,without ,,being ,,hurt--,,gift ,,of ,,healing ,,possessed ,,by ,,elder ,,abel ,,evans--,a ,,woman ,,healed ,,who ,,had ,,her ,,face ,,eaten ,,away ,,by ,a ,,cancer--,,storm ,,at ,,sea ,,rebuked--,a ,,broken ,,leg ,,cured--,a ,,broken ,,skull ,,mended-,,fever ,,on ,,shipboard ,,stopped ,,by ,,the ,,prayer ,,of ,,faith4 ,elder ,elias ,morris1 now a resident of ,salt ,lake ,city1 labored extensively as a local and traveling ,elder in the ,welch mission in an early day4 ,in illustration of the manner in which the ,lord's power was often manifested in preserving the lives of ,his servants1 he relates an instance from his experience3 ,while acting as a local ,elder in his native place1 laboring at his trade during the week and preaching in the surrounding villages on ,sundays1 he once had occasion to speak of the signs which the ,savior had promised should follow believers3 ,in my name they shall cast out devils2 they shall speak with new tongues2 they shall take up serpents2 and if they drink any deadly1 thing it shall not hurt them2 they shall lay hands on the sick1 and they shall recover4 ,he argued that the enjoyment of those promised blessings was not limited to the believers who lived when the ,savior was upon the earth1 but that the faithful ,latter-day ,saints also shared the same4 ,the sectarian preachers of the neighborhood who listened to or heard of ,elder ,morris' remarks on that occasion ridiculed them1 and one especially1 a ,methodist deacon1 had a great deal to say about them4 ,in repeating those remarks and commenting on them to others1 he also exaggerated what had been said1 even asserting falsely that ,elder ,morris had claimed that if he were to fall from the top of a quarry it would not hurt him4 ,elder ,morris heard of this deacon's exaggerated stories and flippant comments1 but did not deign to notice them1 although he was well acquainted with the man1 in fact he was at that very time in his employ4 ,a few days afterwards ,elder ,morris happened to be engaged upon a three-story building1 pointing the front1 and for that purpose was sitting on a hanging scaffold near the top of the wall4 ,all at once he felt the scaffold giving way1 the planks upon which it rested1 and which projected from the inside of the building1 having become loosened4 ,he called immediately to a fellow workman engaged inside the building to come to his relief1 but before the man reached the window to grasp the plank1 the scaffold fell and ,brother ,morris with it4 ,with a silent prayer to ,god for help1 and fully realizing his danger1 he dropped the distance of thirty feet or more1 alighting on his thigh on the stone pavement4 ,in an instant he was upon his feet1 and placing his hand on a window sill1 he sprang lightly into the lower room of the building and escaped the falling planks1 which did not reach the ground until after he had1 and came forth the next minute unharmed4 ,he did not even feel the slightest pain from the fall4 ,it happened that the ,methodist deacon1 one of the owners of the building1 and ,elder ,morris' father were in the street in front of the building at the time of the accident1 and the latter was almost paralyzed with fear at the sight of his boy falling down1 and no less surprised and overjoyed at seeing him walk forth the next moment unscathed4 ,the deacon1 too1 seemed very much astonished and hardly able to believe the evidence of his own sight when he saw the man whose religious pretentions he had ridiculed so much pass through such an ordeal and appear unhurt4 ,elder ,morris noticed his surprised look as he approached him1 and thought it a fitting opportunity to tax him with the slander and ridicule which he had been indulging in at his expense4 ,he accordingly did so1 and then asked ironically1 hinting at the story which the deacon had circulated about him1 ,isn't that almost equal to falling off a quarry8 ,the deacon acknowledged that it was1 and declared that some supernatural power must have saved him in that instance at least4 ,many anecdotes are related of ,elder ,abel ,evans1 formerly of ,lehi1 in this ,territory1 who died while on a mission in ,wales some years since4 ,he was a man of wonderful faith1 and possessed the gift of healing in a remarkable degree4 ,while laboring as a missionary in ,wales in an early day he met a sister who was a member of the ,church and was afflicted with a terrible cancer in her face which had eaten away her upper lip and the greater portion of her nose4 ,she had tried all the doctors she could find who pretended to cure cancers and they had one after another given her case up as hopeless4 ,when ,brother ,evans met her she was mourning over her affliction and recounting her suffering and the efforts she had made to get relief4 ,he listened to her story and then asked3 ,why do you not apply to the ,great ,physician to cure you8 ,do you think it would be of any use8 she asked1 brightening up4 ,why1 he replied with the ,lord all things are possible6 ,if you have faith you can be healed6 ,she expressed her anxiety to be administered to1 and he forthwith purchased a bottle of olive oil1 consecrated it and anointed her face1 applying the oil with a feather to the worst part4 ,he also rebuked the disease and prayed for her recovery1 and from that hour the cancer was killed and her face began to heal4 ,he repeated the operation two or three times1 and1 strange as it may appear1 the flesh and skin actually grew again upon that part of her face which had been eaten away and a new nose in time developed--not a perfect one it is true1 but one that was a great improvement upon none at all4 ,notwithstanding this great manifestation of ,god's goodness to her1 however1 this woman afterwards apostatized4 ,on one occasion ,brother ,evans was sailing from ,liverpool to ,bangor1 at which place he had an appointment to preach1 when a terrible storm arose1 which threatened the destruction of the vessel4 ,when the officers and crew were all ready to give up hope1 ,elder ,evans retired to a secluded part of the vessel1 called upon the ,lord in prayer1 reminding ,him of the appointment to be filled and that he was upon ,his business1 and1 in mighty faith1 rebuked the storm1 when it calmed so suddenly that all hands on board were as much surprised as delighted1 and quite at a loss to account for the sudden change in their prospects4 ,in the year #ahdf1 a man living in ,merthyr ,tydvil1 who was a member of the ,church1 happened accidentally to break his leg between the knee and ankle4 ,a surgeon was called in1 who set the broken bones1 bound the limb up with bandages and splints and cautioned the patient to keep perfectly quiet until the fracture could have time to knit4 ,three days afterwards ,elders ,abel ,evans and ,thomas ,d4 ,giles called to see him1 and the former questioned him as to his faith4 ,do you believe1 said he1 that the ,lord has power to heal your broken limb8 ,the man acknowledged that he did4 ,do you believe1 he again1 asked1 that we1 as the servants of ,god1 holding the ,priesthood1 have authority to call upon the ,almighty and claim a blessing for you at ,his hands8 ,the man assured him that he did4 ,then1 said he1 ,if you wish it we will take the bandages off your broken leg and anoint it4 ,the man consented1 the bandages and splints were removed and his leg was anointed with consecrated oil4 ,the brethren then placed their hands upon his head1 and ,elder ,evans rebuked the power of the evil one1 commanded the bones to come together and knit1 and1 finally1 that the man should arise from his bed and walk4 ,he got out of bed immediately and walked about the house1 and from that time had no occasion to use a bandage on the injured limb or even walk with a stick4 ,while crossing the sea in #ahej1 emigrating to ,utah1 a number of remarkable cases of healing occurred under his administration4 ,one was that of a young girl who was terribly afflicted with evil spirits1 and who was entirely relieved when he placed his hands upon her head4 ,another was that of a little boy who fell through the hatchway of the vessel1 alighting upon his head on the ring and bolt of the lower hatchway4 ,when he was picked up it was found that the force of the fall had driven the iron upon which he struck into his head1 and within a minute afterwards the injured place puffed up like a distended bladder4 ,of course1 he was knocked insensible and apparently lifeless1 but ,brother ,evans and one or two other ,elders immediately administered to him1 and while their hands were upon his head the swelling entirely disappeared and he was restored to consciousness and to health4 ,this was witnessed and marveled at by a number of persons who were not in the ,church as well as a great many of the ,saints who were on board4 ,when ,elder ,evans was crossing the ,atlantic in charge of a company of ,saints emigrating to ,utah1 a terrible epidemic in the nature of a fever broke out on the ship1 and threatened the destruction of all on board4 ,he felt that their only hope lay in securing the favor of the ,almighty1 and determined to muster all the faith he could in appealing to the ,lord4 ,he called together four ,elders of experience who were on board1 and asked them to retire with him to the hold of the vessel and unite in prayer4 ,they did so again and again without any apparent good result1 and ,brother ,evans marveled at the cause4 ,it was such an unusual thing for him to fail to have his prayers answered1 that he was surprised that it should be so in that instance1 and he could only account for it by lack of union or worthiness on the part of the ,elders4 ,he therefore called the four ,elders again to retire with him to the hold of the ship1 and took with him a basin of clean water4 ,when they had reached a secluded place where they were not likely to be overheard or disturbed by others1 he talked to the ,elders about the necessity of their being united in faith and clear of sin before ,god if they desired to call upon ,him and receive a blessing4 ,now1 he said1 ,i want each of you ,elders1 who feels that his conscience is clear before ,god1 who has committed no sin to debar him from the enjoyment of the ,holy ,spirit1 and who has faith in the ,lord ,jesus ,christ sufficient to call upon the ,almighty in ,his name and claim the desired blessing1 to wash his hands in that basin6 ,three of the ,elders stepped forward and did so2 the fourth could not--his conscience smote him4 ,he was therefore asked kindly to retire1 and the four others joined in earnest prayer before the ,lord and rebuked the disease by which the people were afflicted4 ,the result was that the epidemic ceased its ravages and the sick recovered from that very hour1 much to the surprise of the ship's officers and others on board who knew nothing of the power by which such a happy result was accomplished4 ,in the winter of #ahej1 ,elder ,abel ,evans lived at ,council ,bluffs1 on the eastern bank of the ,missouri river4 ,a great many of the ,saints were there at the time working for an outfit for their overland journey or awaiting the return of fine weather before starting across the plains4 ,that locality was somewhat noted for its insalubriety1 but during that winter an unusually large amount of sickness prevailed4 ,some of the more prominent ,elders were kept quite busy going about from house to house administering to the sick among the ,saints1 and scores1 perhaps hundreds of cases of healing occurred under their hands1 many of which were quite remarkable4 ,sister ,ashton1 now of ,salt ,lake ,city1 relates how she was healed there when near death's door1 and under circumstances the memory of which even now causes her to shed tears4 ,she had been sick for a considerable length of time and so bad for two weeks that she had not been able to take a mouthful of food1 when she heard of the death of her father4 ,in her weak condition this intelligence was a heavy blow to her4 ,her mother had died previously and been buried without her having the privilege of being with her during her sickness or even seeing her face when dead1 and the thought of being deprived of this privilege in the case of her father also1 almost overcame her4 ,she had during her sickness felt a strong desire to live1 and now in addition to that she was anxious to see her dead father before he was buried1 and attend his funeral4 ,some of the ,elders came and administered to her1 but they were not men in whom she had a great deal of faith1 and she failed to receive any benefit from their administration4 ,after awhile1 however1 ,brother ,evans called to see her1 and1 on learning of her desire to attend her father's funeral1 he promised her without any hesitation that she would do so4 ,placing his hands upon her head1 he rebuked the sickness with which she was prostrated and pronounced the blessing of health upon her4 ,she arose immediately from her bed1 and rode six miles that same day1 and saw her father buried4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,elder ,,john ,,parry',s ,,statement--,,his ,,brother',s ,,testimony ,,and ,,death--,,his ,,sister',s ,,reproof ,,and ,,death--,,embrace ,,the ,,gospel--,,his ,,sleep ,,troubled--,a ,,remedy ,,and ,a ,,lesson--,,orson ,,spencer ,,healed--,,providential ,,help--,,escape ,,from ,a ,,mob--,,cancer ,,in ,a ,,man',s ,,face ,,cured ,,by ,,laying ,,on ,,of ,,hands--,,preserved ,,from ,,mobs4 ,elder ,john ,parry1 who was master-mason on the ,logan ,temple up to the time of his death1 which occurred in ,july last1 left a manuscript journal in which a number of very interesting incidents are recorded4 ,his brother1 ,bernard ,parry1 died on the #abth of ,november1 #ahda1 while a member of the ,campbellite church1 and without having heard of the gospel as revealed through ,joseph ,smith4 ,while upon his death bed1 however1 his mind was illumined by the ,spirit of ,god and he had the gift of prophecy4 ,he said that the ,lord had shown him many great and marvelous things which were to come to pass in this age1 but that he would not live to see them1 for he was about to die4 ,but1 said he1 addressing his father1 the ,lord is going to do a great work and a wonder upon the earth1 and you shall be called to take part in it1 father2 and you shall yet preach the everlasting gospel to thousands in ,wales4 ,then turning to his brother ,john1 he said1 ,and you also1 ,john1 shall be called to it1 and shall preach the gospel to tens of thousands1 and shall baptize many1 and my body shall not altogether rot before the ,savior will stand upon the earth4 ,the night before he died1 he inquired of his brother ,john if he would be willing to do just as he requested him4 ,john replied that he would1 when he asked him to remove the things1 one by one1 that stood upon a table near by1 into another room4 ,his brother complied without saying a word1 and was then requested to return them and arrange them as they were before upon the table4 ,this ,john also did without asking a question1 whereupon ,bernard said1 ,well done2 now ,i wish you to remember that that is the way to serve the ,lord6 whatever ,he commands you to do1 do it without asking questions4 ,after impressing this lesson upon his brother's mind1 he lay back upon his pillow and never spoke again4 ,elder ,parry never heard the gospel preached until five years after his brother's death1 but the prediction in regard to his preaching and baptizing was literally fulfilled4 ,a sister of his also had peculiar impressions before her death1 which occurred about five years later4 ,she had1 while living in ,cheltenham some time previously1 met some ,latter-day ,saints1 and become somewhat acquainted with the doctrines which they preached4 ,on returning to the parental home she frequently referred to these doctrines1 and urged her relatives to investigate them1 but her father and her brother ,john1 who were zealous ,campbellites1 were prejudiced against the ,mormons by the false reports which they had heard about them and opposed her and persuaded her to have nothing to do with them4 ,she was taken sick with a fever1 and when about to die she called her relatives around her and said to her father1 ,your religion is worth nothing in the hour of death4 ,i have lived it as faithfully as mortal could do1 and it is of no good to me now4 ,i am going to utter darkness1 therefore look to yourselves and seek a religion that will support you and enable you to face death fearlessly--the one that you have is of no value6 ,then turning to her brother ,john1 she reproached him with having hindered and persuaded her from embracing the gospel of ,jesus ,christ4 ,this was too much for him to bear1 for he loved his sister dearly1 and he fainted and fell to the floor4 ,when he regained his consciousness his sister had ceased speaking and soon died4 ,brother ,parry gives an account of the manner in which he became acquainted with the ,latter-day ,saints and embraced the gospel4 ,in #ahdd1 a friend of his told him that ,joseph ,smith1 the ,prophet had been killed4 ,as soon as he heard this1 something whispered to him3 ,he was a servant of ,god4 ,from that moment his prejudice against the ,latter-day ,saints was removed4 ,he heard but little of ,mormonism after that until he removed to ,birkenhead1 in #ahdf4 ,while going from there to ,liverpool in company with some of his relatives and friends1 he met a ,mormon ,elder1 who invited him to attend one of their meetings to be held in the last named place4 ,he persuaded his companions to accompany him1 and they all attended the meeting4 ,while listening to the ,elders bear their testimony to the great latter-day work1 he felt convinced that they spoke the truth1 and believed them with all his heart4 ,at the close of the meeting1 he asked one of his friends1 a ,campbellite preacher1 what he thought of the ,mormons and their doctrines4 ,the preacher replied that their doctrines were a damnable heresy4 ,well1 said ,mr4 ,parry1 one of the sayings of ,paul has been fulfilled with you and me to-day4 ,what is that8 asked the preacher4 ,when he said the gospel would be unto one 'the savor of death unto death3 and to the other the savor of life unto life4' ,it has been life unto life to me1 and ,i shall be a ,latter-day ,saint1 was the response4 ,he attended another meeting in the evening of the same day1 and at the close he and his father handed in their names for baptism4 ,shortly after he was baptized ,brother ,parry was ordained an ,elder and was appointed to preside over the ,birkenhead branch of the ,church4 ,while praying subsequently for a testimony of the truth1 a voice spoke to him and said3 ,the gift of healing shall follow thee to a great extent4 ,this was literally fulfilled4 ,after joining the ,church ,elder ,parry was often troubled in his sleep by evil spirits4 ,upon one occasion he inquired of the president of the ,liverpool branch why it was that he was thus annoyed4 ,the ,elder replied that some persons were troubled more than others1 and told him to use the following words in his prayers before retiring to rest3 ,o ,god1 the ,eternal ,father1 ,i ask ,thee in the name of ,thy ,son1 ,jesus ,christ1 to give ,thine angels charge concerning me this night1 and allow not the powers of darkness to molest my spirit nor body4 ,he did this1 and was troubled with evil spirits no more1 until one night1 feeling very sleepy1 he uttered a hasty1 formal prayer and went to bed4 ,during the night he was almost overcome by the power of evil spirits1 which were visible4 ,unable to utter a word1 he prayed fervently in his mind to the ,lord to release him4 ,in an instant the heavens appeared to him to open1 and he saw an angel descend towards him4 ,the personage took hold of him and raised him up a little1 and immediately the powers of darkness disappeared4 ,elder ,parry asked the angel why it was that the ,lord permitted the evil one to abuse him in such a manner1 to which he replied3 ,because thou didst not pray from the heart1 but with thy lips4 ,at one time ,elder ,orson ,spencer came from ,liverpool to spend a few days at a place where ,elder ,parry was living4 ,while there he was taken very sick4 ,elder ,parry anointed him and he soon recovered4 ,a short time after this the ,birkenhead branch of the ,church was disorganized1 and ,elder ,parry was sent to ,wales to preach4 ,he was soon out of money1 and being without a place to stop1 he and his fellow-laborer took lodgings in a small store4 ,they called for food on credit1 trusting the ,lord would provide means to enable them to pay their way4 ,the next day they held two meetings1 and enough money was given them to pay for their board and some to help them in their travels4 ,upon another occasion1 he was obliged to put up at a boarding house1 as he was a stranger in the place1 and there were none who would entertain him4 ,he had no money with which to pay his board when he went there1 but after holding a meeting and telling the people that he was a stranger1 without money1 and was sent to preach without purse or scrip1 several of the congregation donated small sums to help him4 ,while on his way to the house where he was stopping1 a child came to him from the opposite side of the street and placed in his hand a half-penny4 ,when he went to settle for his board and lodgings he found that he had just the exact amount with which he was charged4 ,while holding a meeting in the open air1 at one time1 ,elder ,parry and another traveling ,elder were disturbed by a ruffian who challenged them to fight1 and they were obliged to dismiss the meeting4 ,they went to a public house to take lodgings1 and were followed by a mob4 ,being impressed that they were evil disposed1 ,elder ,parry told the landlady1 in the presence of the gang of ruffians1 that he and his companion would take a walk before retiring for the night4 ,he did not intend to return again1 but said this to avoid being followed by the mob4 ,after leaving the house he and his companion cast lots in the name of the ,lord to know whether they should stay in that place for the night or go to another town near by4 ,the lot fell for them to leave the place1 and they did so4 ,they arrived in the next town about midnight1 and got lodgings at a public house1 ,elder ,parry sleeping with a drunken fellow and his friend with a man that had fits several times during the night4 ,the next morning they returned for their valises1 and met a man1 who informed them that their enemies had been hunting for them during the night until seven o'clock in the morning4 ,they had searched every part of the town1 even among the tombstones1 in the churchyard1 and vowed that if they found the ,elders they would kill them4 ,while preaching in a town in ,wales1 ,elder ,parry prophesied that before the end of that year 7and it was then the month of ,september7 there would be a branch of the ,church of ,jesus ,christ raised up in that village4 ,at that time there was but one member of the ,church residing there2 but before the year closed a branch with fourteen or fifteen members was organized4 ,elder ,parry relates some remarkable instances of healing by the power of ,god which he witnessed4 ,one was in the case of the sister who was afflicted with a cancer in her face1 an account of which has already been given4 ,he assisted ,elder ,abel ,evans in administering to her1 and testifies to her entire recovery4 ,another case of miraculous healing was that of his brother-in-law1 ,john ,williams1 who now resides in this ,territory1 and who was not a member of the ,church at the time this occurred4 ,he was also afflicted with a cancer which had completely taken away his lower lip and part of his chin and tongue4 ,after trying in vain to get relief through the skill of physicians1 he applied to the ,elders of the ,church to administer to him4 ,they did so twice1 and shortly after he received a new tongue1 lip and chin4 ,two children who were stricken with fever and ague and one with cancer1 belonging to the same family1 were also healed through the administration of the ,elders4 ,elder ,parry testifies that many times while fulfilling his duties as an ,elder of the ,church of ,jesus ,christ he was attacked by mobs1 who threw stones at him2 and although at times the stones flew past him in showers1 he was never injured by them4 ,upon several occasions his enemies attempted to inflict upon him bodily injury1 but they were frustrated in all their plans4 ,at one time they secured another man1 thinking it to be ,elder ,parry1 and maltreated him in a shameful manner4 ,several of the most bitter enemies of the ,church in those days died an unnatural death4 ,one man1 who was a sectarian minister1 and one of the worst opposers to the work of ,god to be found in that vicinity1 became ferocious like a mad dog1 and had to be chained up for quite a while before his death4 ,brother ,parry was released from his labors as a traveling ,elder in the ,welsh conference1 in the early part of the year #ahef1 and immediately prepared to emigrate to this country4 ,upon reaching ,iowa ,city1 on his journey westward1 he was appointed captain of a company of one hundred persons4 ,provisions became scarce among the emigrants1 and their rations were reduced to one-half pound of flour per day for each person4 ,on account of this1 some of the company on arriving at ,council ,bluffs concluded to remain there and work1 and therefore left the camp4 ,upon learning this ,brother ,parry went back for them1 and prevailed upon them to continue their journey4 ,while trying to overtake the company1 which was a considerable distance ahead1 he was surrounded by a number of men who were very anxious that the emigrants who were with him should stay and work for them1 and were angry at him for persuading them to leave4 ,some of the pursuing party were sent to procure tar and feathers to cover him with1 while the others were guarding him4 ,their attention was attracted for a moment in another direction1 when ,elder ,parry took advantage of the opportunity to escape by running towards the camp of the ,saints4 ,he was overtaken1 however1 before he reached it by two of the gang1 who seized him by the collar1 but he made some threats which frightened them and they let him go4 ,after reaching camp he was still pursued by others who were mounted on horseback1 and armed with revolvers1 clubs1 etc41 but he escaped their recognition by changing his clothing4 ,the mobocrats finally returned to ,council ,bluffs without having accomplished their object1 for ,elder ,parry's influence over the discouraged men prevailed1 and they decided to continue their journey4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,john ,t4 ,,evans' ,,statement--,a ,,sick ,,and ,,helpless ,,woman ,,healed ,,on ,,being ,,baptized--,,relapse ,,and ,,death ,,after ,,apostasy--,,saints ,,required ,,to ,,renounce ,,their ,,religion ,,or ,,lose ,,their ,,situations--,,cholera ,,epidemic--,,healed ,,according ,,to ,,faith--,,private ,,discussion ,,with ,a ,,malignant ,,who ,,takes ,,the ,,cholera ,,and ,,begs ,,the ,,elders ,,to ,,cure ,,him--,,healed ,,and ,,then ,,baptized-,,curious ,,manner ,,in ,,which ,,food ,,and ,,lodging ,,were ,,provided4 ,elder ,john ,t4 ,evans1 now of ,salt ,lake ,city1 spent about eight years when a young man in preaching the gospel in his native country--,wales4 ,during about five years of this time he labored as a traveling ,elder in ,north ,wales1 one of the very hardest of missionary fields1 where he traveled and preached without purse or scrip4 ,much of the time he labored alone1 for1 although many different ,elders were sent at various times by the president of the mission to assist him1 they generally became discouraged on account of the persecution and hardships they were forced to endure and soon abandoned their labors4 ,the interesting incidents connected with his labors in that land which ,elder ,evans can relate would fill a volume4 ,upon one occasion he and four other ,elders were sent to an iron manufacturing district about seven miles from ,neath to introduce the gospel4 ,among their first converts were a man by the name of ,william ,howells and his family4 ,this man on embracing the gospel received a strong testimony of its divinity and was fearless in declaring it unto others4 ,he had a sister who had been so sick and helpless as to be bed-ridden for three-and-a-half years4 ,she was a member of the ,baptist church1 but on hearing the doctrines of the ,latter-day ,saints explained she soon became dissatisfied with her religion2 and when her brother testified to her that the gospel had been restored to the earth through the ,prophet ,joseph ,smith1 with all its former gifts and blessings1 she declared her intention to be baptized4 ,her husband was bitterly opposed to the gospel1 but all the reason1 ridicule and persuasion that he could use failed to turn her from her purpose4 ,she was resolute1 and so zealous withal that she made a special request to be baptized on ,sunday1 between eleven and twelve o'clock1 that the people of the whole neighborhood might see the ceremony1 and had word circulated to that effect4 ,it was a novel thing in that region to see ,latter-day ,saints baptizing1 and the result was1 that about three thousand persons assembled on the bank of the stream to witness it4 ,she was carried from the house to the stream1 the distance of about half a mile in a chair1 and there ,elder ,evans1 assisted by a man named ,david ,matthews1 carried her into the water and baptized her4 ,she was rewarded for her faith by being entirely restored to health1 and that too1 instantaneously1 for she walked out of the water and to her home4 ,this public manifestation of the power of ,god seemed to be the signal for commencing a perfect storm of opposition against the ,saints4 ,through the influence of sectarian ministers with the proprietors of the iron works a great pressure was brought to bear against the ,saints4 ,it was claimed that they were ,chartists1 that is1 members of a political organization which had caused a great deal of trouble throughout the kingdom a short time previously1 and other lies equally unreasonable were circulated about them to make them odious and unpopular4 ,the five ,elders who had been doing the preaching and baptizing1 and who were dependent upon their labor in the iron works for their living1 were informed by their employers that they must renounce the heresy which they taught as religion1 or lose their positions4 ,they chose the latter4 ,about two hundred of their converts were also employed in the iron works4 ,they were given one month's time to renounce their religion or likewise lose their situations4 ,all efforts to obtain employment elsewhere without a recommendation from their last employers proved unavailing1 on account of the rumors against their characters1 and finally1 when they were brought to the test1 about half of them chose to renounce their religion rather than lose their work4 ,the others were discharged and scattered to different parts in search of employment4 ,many of them suffered severely for want of the necessaries of life1 and were only kept from starving by the collections taken up for their benefit among the more fortunate ,saints in other parts of the mission4 ,among others who yielded to the pressure which the enemies of the ,saints brought to bear against them1 was the sister who had been healed on being baptized4 ,notwithstanding her former zeal and resolution1 and the miraculous power of ,god which she had experienced1 she abandoned the faith4 ,she perhaps thought she had no further need of ,god's mercy1 but if so1 the sequel proved how sadly she was mistaken1 for she was soon prostrated as before and lingered in that condition until she died4 ,in the summer of #ahdi the cholera prevailed throughout ,wales to an alarming extent4 ,the mortality was so great in some places that a perfect panic ensued4 ,the ,elders1 however1 continued their labors1 undaunted by the disease1 administering to the sick day and night1 and the faith of the ,saints was so great that they almost invariably recovered4 ,a local ,elder by the name of ,thomas ,jones1 who was a man of some property1 and not obliged to work for his living1 spent his whole time while the disease prevailed in visiting among the sick4 ,he carried a bottle of consecrated oil about in his pocket to anoint them with1 and administered to all whom he found afflicted1 and out of the whole number only one died1 and he was the only one who had taken the medicine prescribed by a doctor4 ,the town regulations required the sick to have a doctor1 but as a rule his medicine was thrown into the fire instead of being taken by the patients who belonged to the ,church4 ,one of the preachers who had violently opposed the ,saints became alarmed at the spread of the epidemic and attempted to flee and escape from it1 but it overtook him and after three days of terrible agony he died4 ,another preacher by the name of ,jenkins1 who had been an enemy to the ,saints1 was stricken with the cholera and sent for ,elder ,evans to administer to him4 ,that he should do so will be considered all the more remarkable when the history of their early acquaintance is known3 ,elder ,evans1 while laboring in ,pembrokeshire1 obtained the use of the town hall1 in a place called ,fishguard1 to hold meeting in and lighted it at his own expense4 ,when the meeting had fairly commenced and he was in the act of preaching to a rather large audience1 the whole of the lights in the room were extinguished simultaneously1 according to a preconcerted plan1 and a rush was made by the rabble towards the end of the room where the ,elder stood4 ,a tall man1 who happened to be standing near ,elder ,evans1 immediately placed his hand on the latter's shoulder1 and said1 ,young man1 come out of here1 or you will be hurt6 and leading the way1 proceeded with him around one side of the room and out through the door1 leaving the crowd rushing and jamming and shrieking to get at the ,elder1 whom they still supposed to be at the farther end of the hall4 ,the stranger took ,elder ,evans to a public house1 saying that he would like to have a talk with him1 and on arriving there sent for ,mr4 ,jenkins1 the ,baptist preacher of the place1 who had been at the meeting1 and probably engaged in urging the rabble on1 to come there and have a private discussion4 ,he came1 and his principal argument consisted of abuse and the rehearsal of all the absurd stories which he had ever heard about the ,saints4 ,although an educated man he seemed unable to cope with ,elder ,evans in the discussion of religion from a ,bible standpoint4 ,the friend who had delivered ,brother ,evans from the mob finally interrupted them by exclaiming1 ,mr4 ,jenkins1 you are no match for this young man in discussing from the ,bible2 you had better go to college again6 ,mr4 ,jenkins seemed considerably chagrined at this1 and gave it up4 ,the next time ,elder ,evans met this preacher it was some months later1 and1 probably remembering the discussion1 ,mr4 ,jenkins then treated him with some degree of respect4 ,it was that very night that he was stricken with the cholera1 and knowing that ,elder ,evans was in the village he sent his brother to beg of him to come and cure him4 ,brother ,evans1 and a man named ,john ,nicholas who was staying with him1 got out of bed and went to the sick man1 and found him1 doubled up with the cholera and in great agony4 ,the ,elder informed him1 in answer to his appeal for relief1 that the blessings of the gospel were not for men of his class1 who were determined to oppose the work of ,god1 but for the ,saints4 ,he said1 ,i will administer to you on one condition only1 and that is that you repent of your sins and covenant with the ,lord to forsake them and embrace the gospel if ,he spares your life4 ,but1 said the preacher1 writhing with pain1 ,i have an appointment out to preach for my own church4 ,you must forego that1 said ,elder ,evans1 and preach such doctrines no more1 or ,i will not administer to you4 ,the sick man agreed1 and the brethren placed their hands upon his head1 rebuked the disease and prayed for his recovery1 and he was immediately healed4 ,the next day he was baptized1 and afterwards became an efficient preacher of the true gospel1 endured much persecution for his religion in that country1 emigrated to ,utah with a handcart company and finally apostatized when ,johnson's army came here4 ,brother ,evans and a man named ,thomas ,harris were upon one occasion called on to administer to a young girl who was so convulsed with the cholera that she did not look like a human being1 and so near dead that she was black4 ,a number of ,saints were present at the time1 whose faith was centered on her recovery1 and several unbelievers were also there4 ,the ,elders administered to her1 and while their hands were upon her head all signs of the disease vanished1 and she was immediately restored to health4 ,a rather curious circumstance occurred while ,elder ,evans was laboring in ,north ,wales in company with ,peter ,davis4 ,they were traveling as usual without purse or scrip1 and had been two days without food1 when they entered a village and applied at a store kept by a man named ,jones to try to sell a few tracts with which to procure some food4 ,on learning what kind of tracts they were1 the store-keeper refused to purchase1 and they tramped on4 ,the next place they entered was a shoe-maker's shop1 where they asked the privilege of warming themselves by the fire1 for they were almost frozen1 it being extremely cold weather and the month of ,february4 ,some of the shoe-makers became interested in their conversation and one of them proffered to try and find a place for them to stay over night4 ,he returned1 however1 after a while1 to say that the ,methodist preacher of that circuit was to occupy the spare bed which he expected to procure for them4 ,he1 therefore1 recommended them to proceed some distance farther till they came to a farm house1 to which he directed them1 where he had no doubt they could get lodgings and food4 ,the ,elders trudged along1 but when they arrived at the farm house it was evident that the family had retired for the night1 for there was no light to be seen4 ,they noticed a barn1 however1 standing convenient to the roadside1 which seemed to offer shelter for them at least1 and they entered it and burrowed into a heap of straw they found there4 ,they lay in that position for some time1 shivering with the cold and trying in vain to go to sleep1 when suddenly they heard some one outside call out1 ,hello6 you men2 come out here6 ,their first thought was that some one had detected them while in the act of seeking shelter in the barn and informed the police1 who were about to arrest them as vagrants4 ,they1 therefore1 remained as quiet as possible until the call had been repeated several times1 when they concluded they might as well answer1 whatever might be the consequences4 ,as soon as they inquired what was wanted1 the person informed them that he would find a place for them to stay if they would come out4 ,thinking some treachery might be meant1 they declined with thanks1 and told him they could get along where they were4 ,he1 however1 urged them to go with him1 saying he would take them to a place where they could have a good supper and a comfortable bed to sleep in4 ,they accordingly came out and accompanied the stranger1 whom they had never seen before1 back to the village and to the very store where they had tried to sell the tracts4 ,there they found a warm welcome1 a good supper and a comfortable bed4 ,but now for the sequel3 ,a young girl who happened to be in the shoe-shop where they called and who overheard the conversation1 afterwards had occasion to call at ,jones' store1 and repeated it to the proprietor's daughter4 ,the sympathy of the girls was aroused at the thoughts of the two young and strange preachers seeking lodgings and food that cold night1 and when ,miss ,jones retired to bed she found it impossible to go to sleep4 ,her teeth rattled and she shook and chilled all over although she was in a comfortable bed and in a warm house4 ,nor could the family prevent her from chilling although they did all they could to warm her4 ,in the midst of her shivering she kept bewailing the fate of the two young preachers1 whom she felt sure would suffer that cold night1 and finally she prevailed upon her brother to go in search of them and bring them back to their house1 that they might have some supper and a comfortable bed to sleep in4 ,as soon as her brother had started on his errand of mercy the girl ceased to chill and1 in fact1 got up1 dressed herself and helped at preparing supper for the brethren before they arrived4 ,it was not until the next morning that they learned the secret of the kindness shown them and saw in what a curious manner the ,lord had operated in preserving them from possible death by freezing and providing them with the food which they needed so badly4 ,it was quite a common thing in early days in the ,welsh mission for the power of the devil to be manifested in what were called the ,saints' meetings--that is1 testimony or sacramental meetings4 ,the evil one seemed to be always on the alert to operate through some one1 and the power of the ,priesthood invariably had to be exerted to banish the evil influences from the meeting4 ,although not apparent at the time1 experience generally proved that the persons through whom the evil one operated were not serving ,god as they should do--they were either doubting the divinity of the principles which they had embraced or they had broken the sacred covenants which they had made with the ,almighty and gone into transgression4 ,very frequently1 after being relieved of the evil spirits which possessed them such persons would1 in a spirit of penitence and humility1 acknowledge their faults and ask forgiveness1 but occasionally persons would be found who were not willing to do this1 but continued in sin and were a source of trouble and disturbance to the ,saints whenever they happened to be present at their meetings2 and it sometimes occurred that the spirits which possessed them were so stubborn and determined not to yield that the brethren really found it difficult to cope with them4 ,in the latter part of the year #ahdh1 the ,elders laboring in the ,merthyr ,tydvil branch had a great deal of trouble with two young women of that branch who very frequently were possessed of evil spirits4 ,they were such a source of annoyance in the meetings that1 on the day of a general conference which was to be held about the close of the year1 they were cautioned1 by ,elder ,dan ,jones who then presided there1 against attending the meeting4 ,to this1 however1 they paid no attention1 and when the meeting was opened1 it was only too apparent that they were there4 ,in a short time the meeting was in such an uproar1 through the raving and shrieking of those girls1 that the speaker could not be heard4 ,some of the ,elders were immediately sent to cast the evil spirits out of them1 but they failed to do so1 and with difficulty the girls were carried into an adjoining room4 ,when a presiding ,elder has the spirit of his office upon him it is his privilege to know the proper course to take in any emergency4 ,it is his privilege to enjoy communion with the ,holy ,spirit and have the ,lord dictate through him that which will be for the best good of the members over whom he is set to preside4 ,it is also his privilege to discern by what spirit the people with whom he is brought in contact are actuated4 ,it would seem that ,elder ,dan ,jones had the spirit of discernment on that occasion and was inspired to take the wisest course in dealing with the girls and the stubborn spirits by which they were possessed4 ,he was satisfied that they were wilfully sinful1 or the spirit of ,god would not be withdrawn from them and the devil suffered to exercise such power over them4 ,he therefore proposed that they be cut off from the ,church on account of their transgressions1 and the ,saints assembled voted unanimously to that effect4 ,no sooner had they done so than the evil spirits left the girls and they became rational4 ,when they were no longer members of the ,church1 the devil had no further need to try to annoy the ,saints through them4 ,the result was that the girls afterwards saw what their sin had brought them to1 repented of it and made public acknowledgement before the ,saints1 after which they were re-baptized and were no more troubled by evil spirits4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,judgment ,,upon ,,opposers--,,two ,,men ,,killed ,,by ,,their ,,horses--,,horrible ,,death ,,of ,,another--,,eight ,,preachers ,,go ,,down ,,after ,,opposing ,,elder ,,evans--,a ,,man ,,saved ,,from ,,bleeding ,,to ,,death ,,by ,,the ,,prayer ,,of ,,faith--,a ,,sister ,,healed--,,woman ,,cured ,,of ,a ,,bloody ,,issue ,,on ,,being ,,baptized--,,escape ,,the ,,fury ,,of ,a ,,mob ,,by ,,the ,,spirit',s ,,warning--,a ,,warning ,,through ,,the ,,gift ,,of ,,tongues4 ,in numbers of instances in ,brother ,john ,t4 ,evans' experience he had evidence of the judgments of the ,almighty being visited upon those who opposed him4 ,on one occasion he and another ,elder visited a village in ,montgomeryshire1 ,north ,wales1 to try to effect an opening4 ,they failed to obtain a house to hold meeting in1 but nevertheless they announced to the inhabitants that they would be back there one week from that time to preach to them4 ,there seemed to be a strong spirit of opposition to them there1 and on their again visiting the place and attempting to preach in the street opposite a public house1 two men emerged from the rear of the tavern leading a couple of fractious and high-spirited horses4 ,they immediately commenced manoeuvering the animals in the midst of the crowd who had gathered to listen to the preaching4 ,it was evidently a preconcerted plan to break up the meeting1 and it succeeded1 for the people scattered and the ,elders were forced to retire1 and as they did so they were followed by a crowd of roughs who pelted them with stones till they had got clear of the village4 ,within two weeks from that time one of the men who had helped to break up the meeting by leading his horse into the crowd was kicked by the same animal and died from the effects of it1 and the other man was thrown from his horse and killed4 ,the people of that region regarded the summary death of these two men as a judgment sent upon them for opposing the ,elders1 and they therefore treated them with more respect afterwards4 ,another case occurred in ,elder ,evans' native place1 where he was sent by ,captain ,dan ,jones to introduce the gospel4 ,an old shoemaker who had known and been friendly to him from his childhood1 on hearing him preach came out and denounced the doctrine he taught as heretical and ,mormonism as a delusion4 ,he was so bitter that he even followed ,brother ,evans from place to place and railed against him almost like a madman4 ,he had not pursued this course very long when he was stricken down with a peculiar kind of sickness which none of the doctors who saw him understood anything about1 although numbers of them visited him4 ,one of his arms was paralyzed and he had such a raging fever that he felt as if it was consuming him4 ,he begged of his friends to throw cold water on him to keep him from burning up1 and the doctors1 not knowing what else to do for his relief1 advised that it be done4 ,accordingly those who were waiting upon him continued dashing cold water upon him while he remained alive1 and he died raving and cursing ,mormonism and every person connected with it4 ,while preaching in that same region ,elder ,evans was sent for by a very wealthy and influential man named ,nathaniel ,rowlands1 who wished him to come and preach at his house4 ,he had once heard ,elder ,abel ,evans1 preach and became somewhat interested in the doctrines he taught1 and wanted to learn more of them4 ,after preaching at his house he went to a village about a mile distant to fill an appointment4 ,at this village a literary gathering or eisteddfod was being held1 composed of the best educated men of the region1 who were in the habit of meeting to compare their literary and musical compositions and compete for prizes4 ,this association comprized quite a number of ministers of various denominations1 and they1 knowing that ,elder ,evans was going to preach in the village on the same evening upon which they were to hold their meeting1 decided to go and oppose him publicly and expose his doctrines to the ridicule of his congregation4 ,they1 therefore1 sent one of their number to ,elder ,evans' meeting to detain him until their meeting was over4 ,this man came1 and at the close of ,elder ,evans' sermon he began asking him questions1 and thus detained him until a late hour1 and the congregation1 knowing the character of the inquisitor1 stayed to see the end of the controversy4 ,finally1 eight other preachers from the eisteddfod came and announced to the ,elder their intention4 ,elder ,evans was greatly surprised to see such an array of talent unitedly opposed to him1 but he did not feel to shrink from the contest1 for he knew he had the truth on his side4 ,in the outset some of the more independent persons in the audience stated that if the fallacy of the young man's doctrines was to be exposed1 he should first be allowed to state briefly what his doctrines were4 ,the preachers assented to this and ,elder ,evans explained1 one after another1 the first principles of the gospel1 in as plain a manner as possible1 and they in turn sought to controvert and ridicule them4 ,when he got to the subject of baptism a division occurred among the preachers1 some of them being ,baptists and others holding baptism as non-essential4 ,they soon got to denouncing each other as vehemently as they had the young ,elder just before1 and when they almost got to blows the audience interfered and the meeting was broken up1 leaving a far more favorable feeling towards ,elder ,evans than had before existed4 ,when the news of this reached ,mr4 ,rowlands he was very indignant1 and he immediately wrote to each of the preachers1 denouncing his action in interfering with the young ,elder1 whom he had known from childhood as honest and conscientious1 and every way deserving of respect4 ,the result was1 the preachers lost caste from that very time and sunk into oblivion1 despised by all who knew them4 ,while ,elder ,evans was laboring in ,pembrokeshire a man by the name of ,thomas ,evans broke a blood vessel and bled inwardly1 the blood also issuing from his nose and mouth profusely4 ,doctors were called in and tried in vain to stop the hemorrhage4 ,brother ,evans and another ,elder on learning of the man's condition went to see him4 ,he had then grown so weak that he was scarcely able to speak1 but he made known that he desired them to administer to him4 ,they complied with his request1 and on taking their hands from his head it was noticed that the bleeding had stopped1 and the man recovered from that time1 although it was some time before he regained his strength1 as he had lost so much blood4 ,near the same time and in the same region a sister in the ,church1 named ,morgan1 was taken very sick4 ,her friends did all they could for her1 but she continued growing worse4 ,when she had grown so bad that the persons waiting upon her expected her to die almost hourly1 she fell asleep and dreamed that ,elder ,evans came and laid his hands upon her and she recovered immediately4 ,on relating the dream to her friends1 they tried to find out where ,brother ,evans was1 and sent to different parts of the country in search of him1 without finding him1 however2 but during the day ,elder ,evans happened to call at the house where the sick woman was4 ,she saw him as he passed the window before he entered the door and she declared afterwards that the sight of him caused her pain to vanish1 and when he laid his hands upon her head she was healed instantly1 and arose and ate her supper4 ,one of the most remarkable cases of healing that ever occurred in ,brother ,evans' experience was that of a woman who had been afflicted with a bloody issue for thirty years1 and who had been given up by the doctors as incurable4 ,on hearing the gospel she believed1 and requested baptism4 ,notwithstanding the protests of her friends1 who all declared that if she went into the water it would kill her1 she determined to do so1 and ,elder ,evans baptized her4 ,from that very time she was cured of her affliction and was no more troubled by it4 ,in illustration of the providential way in which the ,elders are sometimes preserved when their enemies seek to destroy them1 ,brother ,evans relates the following3 ,in a village in ,pembrokeshire in which he had often preached1 a man by the name of ,thomas1 who had listened to his testimony and was a believer but had not made up his mind to be baptized1 was taken sick with the cholera4 ,when the disease had got such a hold upon him that he felt that he must die1 he became very anxious to be baptized1 and sent for his brother1 who was an ,elder in the ,church1 and demanded baptism at his hands4 ,he expressed no hopes of living1 he fully expected to die1 and to gratify him his brother baptized him4 ,the man died soon afterwards as he had expected to1 but at the coroner's inquest which was held over the body1 on the fact being known that he was baptized1 a great uproar was raised4 ,his brother was arrested1 charged with murder1 and the ,elders who had labored in that region were threatened with the vengeance of the populace if they ever returned4 ,john ,thomas was in time tried for his brother's murder1 and acquitted1 the evidence being clear that he died from cholera and not from being baptized4 ,soon afterwards ,elder ,john ,morris1 who was president of the ,pembrokeshire conference1 and ,brother ,evans1 who was his counselor1 called at the village and put up as usual at the house of an old gentleman named ,noat1 who was a member of the ,church4 ,before retiring for the night they felt impressed to leave that house1 and go to another and stay4 ,it was fortunate that they did so1 for1 if they had failed to act upon the warning of the ,spirit1 they would probably have forfeited their lives as a consequence4 ,in the night a mob broke open the doors of ,noat's house and searched for the ,elders1 whom they supposed to be there4 ,failing to find them1 they dragged old ,brother ,noat from his house and abused him most shamefully1 because he would not inform them where the ,elders were4 ,the ,elders1 on hearing of the outrage the next morning1 went to the house2 but were seen by some of the mob1 and had to flee for their lives1 being stoned out of the place4 ,as an example of the manner in which the gifts of tongues and the interpretation of the same were enjoyed by the ,saints in the ,welsh mission in an early day1 ,brother ,evans relates the following3 ,it was customary at that time for the ,saints in emigrating from ,wales to sail from ,swansea to ,liverpool4 ,a couple or three days after a company had started in this way1 many of them having gone from ,aberdare1 a ,saints' meeting was being held in the latter place1 when a young man was led to speak in tongues4 ,on the interpretation being given by another person present1 it was stated that the company of ,saints who had sailed for ,liverpool were in danger of being wrecked1 and were praying very earnestly for their deliverance1 and wishing that their friends at home would also pray for them4 ,the man who presided over the meeting supposed from the length of time which had elapsed after the company had sailed that they must have reached ,liverpool before that time4 ,he therefore preferred to act upon his own judgment to accepting the ,spirit's warning1 and dismissed the meeting without offering a prayer for the safety of their friends4 ,a few days afterwards news reached ,aberdare that the company had been all but lost on the voyage1 and at the time that their friends were holding their meeting they were in the greatest peril4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,thomas ,d4 ,,giles' ,,experience--,,his ,,head ,,crushed ,,and ,,split ,,open ,,by ,a ,,ton ,,of ,,coal ,,falling ,,upon ,,it--,,healed ,,by ,,the ,,power ,,of ,,god--,a ,,deaf ,,and ,,dumb ,,man ,,receives ,,his ,,hearing ,,and ,,speech ,,on ,,being ,,baptized1 ,,etc4 ,brother ,thomas ,d4 ,giles1 of ,salt ,lake ,city1 was connected with the ,church and labored considerably in the ministry in ,wales soon after the introduction of the gospel in that land4 ,he relates many curious circumstances connected with his conversion to the gospel and his early experience in the same1 some of which we will give to our readers substantially as he tells them3 ,brother ,giles was a ,baptist when he was a young man1 and an earnest seeker after truth wherever it was to be found4 ,the first time he met his friend ,abel ,evans after that gentleman had joined the ,church1 he was asked by him what he thought of the ,latter-day ,saints4 ,brother ,giles replied that he knew nothing about them4 ,brother ,evans then predicted that he soon would know something about them1 and1 more than that1 he and his father's family would soon be baptized by them4 ,brother ,giles thought but little of this prediction at the time1 but it was soon literally fulfilled1 for on hearing the gospel preached he was convinced of its truth1 and on the #ast of ,november1 #ahdd1 he was baptized by ,elder ,abel ,evans4 ,he bears his solemn testimony now that as soon as the ,elders placed their hands upon his head and confirmed him a member of the ,church the power of the ,holy ,ghost filled his system1 brought joy to his heart and gave him an assurance that his sins were forgiven1 for which he had been praying for many years4 ,his father was also prepared to receive the gospel as soon as he heard it preached1 for he had for a long time been inquiring after a church organized after the pattern given by our ,savior and ,his apostles1 and possessing the various gifts which were formerly enjoyed by the ,saints4 ,the result was that he and the whole of his family were soon baptized4 ,about seventeen months after he was baptized ,elder ,giles was called to labor as a missionary in ,monmouthshire1 where he soon baptized a goodly number of people1 organized about thirty branches of the ,church and had the satisfaction of seeing his converts enjoy the gifts of the gospel1 such as speaking in tongues1 interpreting the same1 healing the sick1 casting out evil spirits1 etc4 ,he had much opposition to meet1 and suffered considerable persecution1 but was upheld by the power of ,god1 and had great joy in his labors4 ,when holding outdoor meetings he was frequently interrupted by persons who were influenced by the sectarian ministers of the region4 ,one man in particular1 named ,daniels1 was very persistent in opposing him and trying to break up his meetings1 and on one occasion after doing so he declared that if the ,elders attempted to hold meeting again at the same place the following ,sunday he would have men enough there to mob them out of the place4 ,before the next ,sunday came1 however1 the man was in his grave1 having been accidentally killed while at his work4 ,the first person baptized under ,brother ,giles' administration was a man named ,wm4 ,lewis1 who immediately opened his house for the ,elders to hold meetings in4 ,but the ,saints soon numbered so many that his house would not contain them4 ,the ,elders then applied to a tavern keeper for a large room in which to hold their meetings1 which he very kindly granted them1 and in a short time he and all his family were converted and baptized1 and gave up their tavern4 ,baptisms occurred every night in the week1 and in a short time that branch numbered two hundred and three4 ,in time a still larger hall was required in which to convene1 and the ,elders applied to a ,mr4 ,davis1 who owned a large building called ,the ,greyhound ,hall1 to obtain the use of it4 ,he1 however1 could not think of allowing the ,mormons to meet in his hall1 as he feared it would injure his business and destroy his influence4 ,but he soon had reason to regret taking such an illiberal course1 as he met with a series of losses through having his animals suddenly sicken and die1 and could only attribute his bad luck to the displeasure of the ,almighty at his refusal to grant the ,saints the use of his hall4 ,after that he was glad to have them use it4 ,among others baptized was the leader of the ,baptist choir as well as most of his principal singers1 and as a consequence the singing in the meetings of the ,saints became quite an attractive feature4 ,the faith in the ordinances of the gospel displayed by the ,saints among whom ,brother ,giles labored was quite remarkable4 ,the feeling with most of them on being taken sick was that if they could only have the ,elders come and lay their hands upon them they would be well1 and the result was generally according to their faith4 ,brother ,wm4 ,lewis1 of whom mention has already been made1 was taken seriously sick on one occasion and was unable to leave his bed4 ,his first thought was to send for ,elder ,giles to come and administer to him4 ,he visited him as requested1 and1 on entering the door1 called out cheerily1 asking him what he meant by lying in bed1 and told him to get up and come down stairs4 ,so great was the sick man's faith that he sprang out of bed on hearing the voice and obeyed1 and when ,brother ,giles had administered to him he was as well as he ever had been4 ,similar faith was manifested by the ,saints when the cholera prevailed in that land1 and ,brother ,giles testifies that every one so afflicted whom he or the other ,elders laboring with him administered to1 recovered4 ,this was certainly remarkable1 considering the very great number of unbelievers who died there of that dread malady4 ,one case in particular ,brother ,giles mentions1 that of a sister named ,dudley1 who was so bad that she had turned black and whose sunken eyes indicated that she had not many minutes to live4 ,none of the friends who surrounded her had any hopes of her living except her husband4 ,he called for ,elder ,giles to administer to her and when he did so she was restored to health and is now living in ,utah4 ,about the same time a ,mrs4 ,davies1 who was not in the ,church1 sent for ,elders ,giles and ,dudley to administer to her1 as she was very sick and confined to her bed4 ,they did so1 and her faith made her whole4 ,after that she and her husband joined the ,church1 and are in ,utah now1 true ,latter-day ,saints4 ,on another occasion1 when ,elder ,giles was on a visit to his father's house1 he was sent for to administer to a neighbor lady1 who had been sick and confined to her bed for a considerable length of time4 ,when he went to see her she was suffering the most excruciating pain1 but when he had anointed her and rebuked her disease all pain vanished and she was restored to health4 ,she afterwards came to ,utah and frequently testified of the miraculous manner in which she was healed4 ,brother ,giles himself met with a terrible accident1 and the power of ,god manifested in preserving his life and restoring him to health1 was not less remarkable than in the cases before mentioned4 ,on the #bcrd of ,july1 #ahdc1 he visited the ,llanelly branch of the ,church1 where he held meeting out of doors in the forenoon and in the afternoon attended a sacrament meeting4 ,at the latter meeting permission was given for any of the ,saints to speak as they might feel led by the ,spirit4 ,among others ,elder ,giles was moved upon to speak in tongues1 and the interpretation of what he said was given to the president of the branch1 ,elder ,john ,morgan1 as follows3 ,my servant1 watch1 for thy life is in danger2 but through thy faith thy life shall be spared6 ,feeling sure that there was something prophetic about this1 ,elder ,giles warned ,brother ,morgan at the close of the meeting to be careful1 and not to be out late at night1 lest some plot might be laid by his enemies to take his life4 ,he also said that he would try to take care of himself1 and avoid danger1 lest it might be himself that the warning was intended for4 ,on the following ,wednesday1 the #bfth of ,july1 ,brother ,giles went to his work as usual in the coal mine1 and in a short time after he had commenced work a large piece of coal1 weighing about two thousand pounds fell upon him4 ,he was in a stooping posture at the time1 being about to pick up a piece of coal that lay in front of him1 and when he was knocked down his head lodged between this and the mass of coal that fell upon him4 ,his head was split open from the back of the crown down to his eyes4 ,one of his eyes was also completely cut out of the socket1 and the other crushed so that it ran out4 ,he was taken home1 and two physicians came and examined his head4 ,they declined doing anything for him1 as they said it was not possible for him to live over two hours4 ,however1 after a great deal of persuasion1 they consented to wash off his head1 pick the pieces of coal out of it and sew up the wounds4 ,they also left medicine for him to take1 such as they thought suitable for the case1 but he refused to take a drop of it4 ,he remembered the promise of the ,lord1 that through faith his life should be spared1 and felt to hold on to it and claim a blessing at the hands of the ,almighty4 ,the ,saints of the branch in which he lived were very faithful and kind1 and did all they possibly could under the circumstances for his comfort4 ,on the third day after the accident ,elder ,william ,s4 ,phillips1 the president of the ,welsh mission1 anointed him with consecrated oil1 laid his hands upon his head and blessed him in the name of ,jesus ,christ4 ,brother ,giles testifies that the healing power of the ,holy ,spirit did rest upon him at that time1 for he got out of bed and walked across two rooms1 back and forth4 ,on the ninth day after the accident he sang a song for some of his friends who had called to see him1 and in four weeks he traveled twelve miles in company with two of the brethren to visit his father and mother and the president of the branch4 ,on the fourth ,sunday after the accident1 being called upon1 he spoke in a public meeting in the afternoon and evening4 ,soon after that he was called upon to travel throughout the mission and bear his testimony and preach to the people1 in company with ,elder ,john ,jones1 and he did so4 ,while thus engaged he visited ,newport1 and learned the particulars of a miracle that had occurred there a short time previous4 ,a young man named ,reuben ,brinkworth1 who had been deaf and dumb for a number of years1 manifested a desire to be baptized1 and on receiving that ordinance at the hands of ,elder ,nash1 in whose house he resided1 both his hearing and speech were immediately restored to him4 ,brother ,giles visited this young man and questioned him in regard to the miracle1 and was assured by him that when he went into the water to be baptized he could neither hear nor speak1 but as soon as he was baptized he could do both4 ,brother ,nash also bore his testimony to the same facts4 ,near the same time that ,brother ,giles met with his accident a friend of his1 named ,david ,davis1 who was living in ,merthyr1 was almost crushed to a pulp by the roof of a coal mine falling upon him4 ,when he was dug out ,elder ,william ,phillips and some other brethren laid their hands upon him and promised him that he should live and be healed4 ,while their hands were upon his head1 his broken ribs and other bones were heard coming together with a noise which was quite perceptible4 ,brother ,davis1 who was a truthful1 honest man1 lived to travel about ,wales and testify of this miracle and follow his daily labor as if no such accident had ever occurred4 ,he afterwards emigrated to the ,united ,states1 and is perhaps yet alive4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,scene ,,in ,,the ,,experience ,,of ,,wm4 ,j4 ,,smith--,a ,,strange ,,prophecy ,,and ,,its ,,wonderful ,,fulfillment4 ,in ,february1 #ahef1 ,elder ,william ,j4 ,smith1 who was on a mission in ,england1 was appointed by the ,presidency of the ,church in that land to preside over the ,warwickshire conference4 ,under his ministrations many were baptized into the ,church in ,coventry1 which stirred up the clergy of that city against him to such an extent that they specially enjoined it upon their scripture readers to warn the people against going to hear the ,mormons4 ,elder ,smith determined to deliver a series of eight lectures on the first principles of the gospel1 at ,spurn ,end chapel1 the regular meeting place of the ,saints2 and to secure attendance he placarded ,coventry with large bills announcing his intention4 ,this caused many to come and hear him4 ,on the ,sunday morning announced for the sixth lecture ,elder ,smith was so sick that he was unable to arise from his bed4 ,in this extremity he prayed earnestly to the ,lord to heal him1 so that he could fill his appointment4 ,it was with much difficulty that he went to the morning's meeting1 but being resolved to do his utmost1 he addressed the ,saints1 and1 the ,spirit of ,god resting upon him1 he was much strengthened and was enabled to fill his appointment in the afternoon4 ,the meeting was a very crowded one2 all classes apparently were represented2 scripture readers were present to take notes1 while numbers1 probably hundreds1 were unable to obtain admission4 ,in the rear of the chapel ran the line of railway that connected ,coventry with ,nuneaton1 and in that portion of its road it was built upon arches high above the ground4 ,these were so near the chapel that whenever a train passed1 it not only made a great noise1 but perceptibly shook the building4 ,elder ,smith's audience1 though so large1 was a very attentive one1 but shortly after he had commenced speaking a train came thundering by1 causing the minds of the people to be distracted from his teachings4 ,feeling annoyed at the interruption1 the speaker suddenly stopped talking1 paused for a few moments and then exclaimed1 ,babylon6 confusion6 ,i cannot speak an hour without being interrupted by the railway1 and then1 stretching out his hand1 he continued1 ,in the name of ,jesus ,christ1 my ,master1 that railway arch shall fall to the ground4 ,elder ,smith then continued his sermon4 ,when he had done1 he had mingled feelings2 he could scarcely understand why he was prompted to utter such a prophecy2 he felt that if he had left that out it would have been the best discourse he ever preached4 ,but the words were uttered and could not be recalled2 they had been heard by scores1 many of whom were not friends of the ,saints2 still he felt impressed that what he had prophesied was by the ,spirit of ,god1 and that gave him peace4 ,his words were reported to nine clergymen1 who made it their business to have competent judges examine the arches and discover if possible if there was any cause for a statement and prophecy such as his4 ,these gentlemen declared the arches to be sound1 that there were no better in ,england1 and consequently ,brother ,smith was ridiculed and derided as a false prophet4 ,shortly afterwards ,elder ,smith was called away from ,coventry by the presidency of the mission1 and appointed to succeed ,elder ,henry ,lunt in the presidency of the ,newcastle-on-,tyne pastorate4 ,he left ,warwickshire without seeing his prophecy fulfilled2 but within a few weeks a heavy rain fell and undermined the arches1 and nineteen out of twenty-one fell to the ground1 leaving only two standing4 ,through this fall much damage was done to the contiguous residences and other property4 ,brother ,henry ,russell1 who now lives at ,union1 in ,salt ,lake ,county1 was at that time a lamp-lighter in ,coventry4 ,he was engaged in lighting the street lamps when this destruction took place4 ,he was just about to pass under one of the arches when it fell1 and he probably would have been killed had he not been stopped by a policeman and detained until the danger was over4 ,thus is the saying of the ,lord corroborated1 that what ,his servants declare by ,his ,spirit ,he will fulfill4 ,,remarkable ,,healings4 ,,martin ,h4 ,,peck',s ,,testimony ,,of ,a ,,number ,,of ,,remarkable ,,cases ,,of ,,healing--,a ,,broken ,,arm1 ,a ,,crushed ,,leg1 ,,etc41 ,,healed ,,immediately4 ,brother ,martin ,h4 ,peck1 of ,salt ,lake ,city1 relates a series of cases of healing that occurred in his family and under his administration4 ,he joined the ,church in ,vermont1 in #ahcc1 and about two years later1 while on a visit to a place about nine miles from where he lived1 he received word from his wife at home that their child was lying at the point of death and she desired him to come home immediately and bring an ,elder with him4 ,he was not more surprised at learning of his son's dangerous condition than of the faith in the ordinances of the gospel which his wife manifested1 by wanting an ,elder to lay hands on the child2 for she had not then joined the ,church or manifested much interest in the gospel4 ,he was therefore almost as much pleased on his wife's account as he was pained on account of his child on receiving the news4 ,taking ,elder ,james ,snow with him1 he hastened home1 and found the little fellow lying helpless and in a very low condition in his mother's arms4 ,brother ,peck only held the office of a ,teacher at the time1 so ,elder ,snow administered to the child alone1 and while doing so the little fellow dozed off into a quiet slumber1 and when he awoke he was as well as he ever had been4 ,soon afterwards ,brother ,peck himself was taken extremely ill1 and to all appearances seemed about to die4 ,he even lost his sight and was in the greatest agony1 but ,elder ,john ,badger was called in and rebuked the disease and blessed him1 and he was healed immediately4 ,on describing his symptoms afterwards to a friend who was an experienced physician1 he was assured that his was an extreme case1 and it was doubtful if medical skill could have saved him4 ,near the same time his son ,joseph was troubled with a couple of swellings on the glands of his neck which threatened to choke him4 ,after various remedies had been tried without avail a physician was consulted1 who declared the boy could not live long if they continued to grow1 and recommended that a surgical operation be performed to remove them1 although even that1 he admitted1 would be very dangerous4 ,brother ,peck concluded not to act upon his advice1 and he sent for some ,elders instead and had them anoint and lay hands upon him4 ,the result was that in a few days the swellings had entirely disappeared4 ,from ,vermont ,brother ,peck removed to ,ohio1 and while there a great deal of sickness prevailed and many deaths occurred in his neighborhood4 ,the doctors seemed to be entirely baffled in their efforts to cope with the disease4 ,among others stricken down was ,brother ,peck's son1 ,william4 ,he lay unconscious all day with his eyes turned back in his head1 and apparently in a dying condition4 ,a number of neighbors called in to see him and urged ,brother ,peck to send for a doctor4 ,he told them1 however1 that he could not have much confidence in doctors' skill after seeing the children which they attended die off1 as they had done1 like rotten sheep4 ,he preferred to have nothing to do with them4 ,nor did he feel like administering to the boy while unbelievers were in the house4 ,his wife happened to be away from home1 and he felt confident that when she returned their united faith would result in obtaining a blessing from the ,almighty4 ,some of the neighbors in their solicitude stayed with the boy all day1 and doubtless thought ,brother ,peck an unfeeling wretch1 as he would not send for a doctor4 ,on the return of ,sister ,peck she1 too1 refused to have a physician1 and so the neighbors left in disgust4 ,as soon as they had done so the parents called mightily upon the ,lord to spare their child's life and ,brother ,peck rebuked the disease1 and he was healed instantly4 ,but a few days had elapsed when their son ,joseph was taken suddenly very sick1 and a neighbor hastened to ,brother ,peck's shop to inform him if something were not done immediately for his relief he would be dead4 ,he also offered his services to wait upon him4 ,brother ,peck thanked him for his kindness but declined accepting the offer4 ,on reaching his home and seeing the condition of the child1 which was truly alarming1 he and his wife referred the case to the ,lord1 with the same result as in the previous case4 ,a rather curious case was that of a young lady who lived in ,brother ,peck's family who was afflicted with a most distressing cough1 from which she could get no relief4 ,it seemed as if she would almost choke with it4 ,on being administered to by the ,elders she was relieved immediately1 and never coughed again for two weeks1 when1 on getting in a passion1 the cough returned4 ,there was a doctor by the name of ,harvey ,tate living neighbor to ,brother ,peck in ,ohio1 who became somewhat interested in the doctrines of the ,latter-day ,saints1 and for the purpose of learning more concerning them made a visit to his house4 ,while he was there ,brother ,peck's son ,james was brought home with a broken arm1 caused by his falling from a tree4 ,the fracture was about three inches above the wrist joint1 and so complete that his arm formed a right angle at the place where it was broken4 ,the doctor set and bandaged it1 and the boy was put in bed4 ,the pain was so great1 however1 that he could scarcely endure it1 and after the doctor had gone he begged his father to bless him1 saying he knew that would cure him4 ,brother ,peck accordingly administered to him and the pain immediately ceased4 ,he slept well during the night and on getting up the next morning played about with his fellows as if nothing had ever been the matter with his arm1 not even having it in a sling4 ,the next day he was sent to the doctor to show him his arm1 and when he entered his house1 the doctor noticed1 to his surprise1 that the boy took hold of a chair with his lame hand and lifted it forward to sit down upon4 ,taking the little fellow by the hand1 he then asked him if he felt any pain in his arm or hand1 and the boy answered frankly that he did not4 ,the doctor bent his fingers and saw that he had free use of them1 then examined his hand and wrist and saw that there was no sign of swelling1 and declared that it was the power of ,god which had healed the broken limb1 for nothing else could have done it in so short a time4 ,this incident probably influenced ,dr4 ,tate in favor of the ,latter-day ,saints1 as he soon afterwards joined the ,church4 ,he was baptized by ,elder ,john ,e4 ,page1 and ordained an ,elder1 and for some time was quite a faithful and efficient member1 but he subsequently lost the faith4 ,he had abundant evidence1 however1 while he remained in the ,church that the power of ,god was with the ,saints1 as he saw it manifested on several occasions so plainly that he could not deny it4 ,but he may have been like some others of whom it has been said that they joined the ,church through seeing a miracle performed and apostatized because they could not see one every day4 ,on one occasion he and ,elder ,peck were called upon to go a distance of ten miles to see a sister in the ,church who was thought to be dying4 ,they traveled with all possible speed1 and on arriving at the place found the woman in a very critical condition4 ,the doctor1 although used to scenes of sickness1 allowed ,brother ,peck to take the lead in directing what should be done for the relief of the patient1 and he proposed to anoint and lay hands upon her4 ,they accordingly did so1 and she was healed immediately1 and arose and prepared supper for them4 ,while returning home the doctor remarked jocularly1 that the experience of that evening presented a new phase in his medical practice4 ,he had never taken that course before to cure patients1 nor was he in the habit of going that distance to visit them without charging for it4 ,while journeying to ,missouri with the ,kirtland ,camp1 ,brother ,peck's son1 ,edwin1 had his leg accidentally run over by a heavily loaded wagon1 on a very hard road4 ,when he was picked up the limb appeared to be flattened as if almost crushed to a pulp1 and the flesh was laid open4 ,brother ,peck had seen the power of ,god manifested in so many instances then1 and he had such confidence in the ,almighty hearing and answering his prayers1 that he never thought of summoning a surgeon1 but immediately administered to the boy and then placed him in the wagon4 ,in an hour afterwards he examined his leg and found that it was entirely well1 the only sign of the injury left being a slight scar which had the dry and scaly appearance of an old sore1 long since healed up4 ,the place was not even discolored4 ,there were numbers of witnesses to this miracle1 many of whom are living to-day4 ,,philo ,,dibble',s ,,narrative4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,his ,,early ,,life--,,conversion--,,curious ,,signs--,,joseph ,,removes ,,to ,,kirtland--,,wonderful ,,manifestations--,a ,,miraculous ,,case ,,of ,,healing--,,sidney ,,rigdon ,,in ,,darkness--,,joseph ,,predicts ,,that ,,the ,,evil ,,one ,,will ,,handle ,,him1 ,,and ,,the ,,prediction ,,is ,,fulfilled4 ,i am the second son of ,orotor and ,bulah ,dibble1 and was born ,june #fth1 #ahjf1 at ,peru1 ,pittsfield ,county1 ,massachusetts4 ,when ,i was quite young my father removed to the town of ,granby1 where he died when ,i was ten years old1 leaving my mother with nine children4 ,my elder brother1 ,philander1 and ,i were taken by one ,captain ,apollos ,phelps1 living at ,suffield1 ,connecticut1 to raise until we were twenty-one years old1 he having no children of his own4 ,morally speaking1 he was a good man1 and taught us good principles1 and treated us as though we were his own sons4 ,i remained with him four or five months after ,i became of age1 when ,i resolved to travel4 ,i then visited ,boston1 ,massachusetts1 and its harbor1 and saw the ship ,java1 that was fitted out with six hundred soldiers to protect the merchants against the pirates4 ,i also visited several islands and many of the surrounding towns and then returned to ,suffield1 where ,i became acquainted with ,miss ,celia ,kent1 daughter of ,benajah ,kent1 of ,suffield1 and married her2 the ,rev4 ,calvin ,phileo performing the ceremony4 ,i was then twenty-three years of age4 ,my wife having some property in ,ohio1 we sold our possessions in ,connecticut and removed to that part4 ,while crossing ,lake ,erie from ,buffalo to ,fairport we encountered a terrible storm1 and our destruction seemed imminent1 but through an overruling ,providence we were saved and landed safely4 ,we passed through ,chardon1 ,ohio1 and located three miles west of that city1 at a place called ,king ,street1 which was within five miles of ,kirtland4 ,i there purchased a farm and entered into the business of buying and selling wild lands4 ,one morning ,i was standing at my gate when two men drove up in a two-horse wagon1 and asked me to get in and go home with them1 about quarter of a mile distant4 ,on the way1 one asked me if ,i had heard the news1 and informed me that four men had come to ,kirtland with a golden ,bible and one of them had seen an angel4 ,they laughed and ridiculed the idea1 but ,i did not feel inclined to make light of such a subject4 ,i made no reply1 but thought that if angels had administered to the children of men again ,i was glad of it2 ,i was afraid1 however1 it was not true4 ,on my return home ,i told my wife what ,i had heard4 ,the next day ,i was intending to go fifty miles south to the town of ,suffield1 ,ohio1 to pay some taxes1 but my wife thinking that one or two days would not make much difference about that1 proposed that we should hunt up those strange men in ,kirtland4 ,the next morning ,i took my wife1 another man and his wife1 and started for ,kirtland4 ,when we arrived there1 the men we were seeking had gone to the town of ,mayfield1 but were to return to ,kirtland the next day4 ,the following morning ,i hitched up my carriage and again drove to ,kirtland1 one of my neighbors accompanying us with his team and family4 ,on arriving there1 we were introduced to ,oliver ,cowdery1 ,ziba ,peterson1 ,peter ,whitmer1 ,jr41 and ,parley ,p4 ,pratt4 ,i remained with them all day1 and became convinced that they were sincere in their professions4 ,i asked ,oliver what repentance consisted of1 and he replied1 ,forsaking sin and yielding obedience to the gospel6 ,that evening he preached at ,brother ,isaac ,morley's1 and bore his testimony to the administration of an angel at noonday4 ,he then dwelt upon the subjects of repentance and baptism and the bestowal of the ,holy ,ghost1 and promised that all who embraced these principles with honesty of heart should receive a testimony4 ,he also requested all who wished to be baptized to make it manifest by arising4 ,five persons1 among whom were ,william ,cahoon and myself1 arose4 ,i then made preparations for baptism by borrowing a suit of clothes4 ,my wife thought ,i was too hasty1 and said if ,i would wait awhile perhaps she would go along with me4 ,she was a ,baptist by persuasion4 ,i paid no heed to her1 but went forthwith and was baptized by ,parley ,p4 ,pratt4 ,this was on the #afth of ,october1 #ahcj4 ,when ,i came out of the water1 ,i knew that ,i had been born of water and of the spirit1 for my mind was illuminated with the ,holy ,ghost4 ,i spent that evening at ,dr4 ,f4 ,g4 ,williams'4 ,while in bed that night ,i felt what appeared to be a hand upon my left shoulder and a sensation like fibers of fire immediately enveloped my body4 ,it passed from my right shoulder across my breast to my left shoulder1 it then struck me on my collar bone and went to the pit of my stomach1 after which it left me4 ,i was enveloped in a heavenly influence1 and could not sleep for joy4 ,the next morning ,i started home a happy man4 ,all my neighbors were anxious to know the result of my visit to ,kirtland1 and ,i was visited by two ,campbellite preachers1 named respectively ,scott and ,williams1 one of whom remarked1 ,mr4 ,dibble1 ,i understand you have joined the ',mormons4' ,what reason have you to believe they have the truth8 ,i told them1 ,the scriptures point to such a work1 which should come forth4 ,he then asked me where ,i found it4 ,i took the ,bible and opened it where it speaks of truth springing out of the earth1 and righteousness looking down from above4 ,he read it and handed it to the other preacher4 ,they made no comments4 ,i bore my testimony to them of what ,i had received1 and ,mr4 ,scott said1 ,i don't doubt1 ,mr4 ,dibble1 that you have received all you say1 because you are honest1 but they are impostors4 ,i then asked ,mr4 ,scott if he believed the ,lord would bless the labors of a false prophet1 to which they did not stop to reply but left1 and told the people it was no use talking to me4 ,one of my neighbors came to me and said1 ,we have sent a man down to ,york ,state to find out the truth of this work1 and he is a man who will not lie4 ,if he returns and says it is false1 will you believe him8 ,i told him ,i would believe the truth1 and asked him if that man 7whose name was ,edward ,partridge7 should come back and say it was false if he would believe him4 ,he replied1 ,yes2 for he is a man who would not lie for his right arm6 ,i then added1 ,if he says it is true1 will you then believe him8 to which he reluctantly replied that he would4 ,shortly after this1 however1 when ,brother ,partridge wrote back and said that he had been baptized1 and was then preaching the gospel1 this man shunned me1 and for a long time afterwards gave me no chance to talk with him4 ,but when we met1 ,i asked him what he thought of ,brother ,partridge1 and he replied that he was honest1 but had been deceived4 ,the four missionaries who had visited ,kirtland proceeded on westward to the borders of the ,lamanites1 in ,jackson ,county1 ,missouri1 on the mission to which they had been called by revelation through ,joseph the ,prophet1 leaving the few converts they had made to themselves4 ,meetings were held occasionally by the members of the ,church in ,kirtland1 all of which ,i attended4 ,all manner of spirits were there made manifest1 and no one to detect them4 ,many persons were operated upon in a very strange manner1 and ,i was impressed that the spirits which inspired them were from the evil one4 ,at a meeting held one evening at ,brother ,whitney's1 the heavens were opened and the ,spirit of ,god filled the house and rested upon all the congregation to overflowing1 little children not excepted4 ,prophesying and singing the songs of ,zion were indulged in until morning4 ,brother ,whitney1 who had not then yielded obedience to the gospel1 was convinced of the truth1 and shortly after was baptized4 ,i will here observe that about the time of which ,i write1 there were many signs and wonders seen in the heavens above and in the earth beneath in the region of ,kirtland1 both by ,saints and strangers4 ,a pillar of light was seen every evening for more than a month hovering over the place where we did our baptizing4 ,one evening also1 as ,brother ,william ,blakesley and ,i were returning home from meeting1 we observed that it was unusually light1 even for moonlight2 but1 on reflection1 we found the moon was not to be seen that night4 ,although it was cloudy1 it was as light as noonday1 and we could seemingly see a tree farther that night than we could in the day time4 ,soon after this ,joseph with his father's family came to ,kirtland1 and said the ,lord had sent him there1 and he or the devil would have to leave4 ,this was the first time ,i had beheld ,joseph4 ,after he arrived the false spirits which had been operating through the members of the ,church ceased for awhile4 ,i held myself in readiness to assist the ,smith family with my means or my personal services as they might require1 as they were financially poor4 ,they were living on a farm owned by ,f4 ,g4 ,williams1 in ,kirtland1 upon which there was a debt of four hundred dollars due1 which had to be paid within a stated time or the farm would revert to its former owner4 ,joseph ,coe1 who was required to raise this amount to save the farm1 said he could not do so1 for his wife held the money and she did not belong to the ,church4 ,being present with ,joseph when the subject came up1 ,i said to him1 ,i can raise the money6 and he replied that if ,i would1 ,i should be blessed4 ,i explained to him how ,i would have to raise the money4 ,i owned twelve hundred acres of land lying twenty miles south of ,elyria1 which was worth three dollars per acre4 ,in order to raise the money then ,i would have to sell a portion of it for one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre1 and ,i accordingly did so and paid ,joseph the four hundred dollars4 ,when ,joseph came to ,kirtland his fame spread far and wide4 ,there was a woman living in the town of ,hiram1 forty miles from ,kirtland1 who had a crooked arm1 which she had not been able to use for a long period4 ,she persuaded her husband1 whose name was ,johnson1 to take her to ,kirtland to get her arm healed4 ,i saw them as they passed my house on their way4 ,she went to ,joseph and requested him to heal her4 ,joseph asked her if she believed the ,lord was able to make him an instrument in healing her arm4 ,she said she believed the ,lord was able to heal her arm4 ,joseph put her off till the next morning1 when he met her at ,brother ,whitney's house4 ,there were eight persons present1 one a ,methodist preacher1 and one a doctor4 ,joseph took her by the hand1 prayed in silence a moment1 pronounced her arm whole1 in the name of ,jesus ,christ1 and turned and left the room4 ,the preacher asked her if her arm was whole1 and she straightened it out and replied3 ,it is as good as the other4 ,the question was then asked if it would remain whole4 ,joseph hearing this1 answered and said3 ,it is as good as the other1 and as liable to accident as the other4 ,the doctor who witnessed this miracle came to my house the next morning and related the circumstance to me4 ,he attempted to account for it by his false philosophy1 saying that ,joseph took her by the hand1 and seemed to be in prayer1 and pronounced her arm whole in the name of ,jesus ,christ1 which excited her and started perspiration1 and that relaxed the cords of her arm4 ,i subsequently rented my farm and devoted all my time to the interest of the ,church1 holding myself in readiness to take ,joseph wherever he wished to go4 ,on invitation of ,father ,johnson1 of ,hiram1 ,joseph removed his family to his home1 to translate the ,new ,testament4 ,this was in the year #ahca4 ,at this time ,sidney ,rigdon was left to preside at ,kirtland and frequently preached to us4 ,upon one occasion he said the keys of the kingdom were taken from us4 ,on hearing this1 many of his hearers wept1 and when some one undertook to dismiss the meeting by prayer he said praying would do them no good1 and the meeting broke up in confusion4 ,brother ,hyrum came to my house the next morning and told me all about it1 and said it was false1 and that the keys of the kingdom were still with us4 ,he wanted my carriage and horses to go to the town of ,hiram and bring ,joseph4 ,the word went abroad among the people immediately that ,sidney was going to expose ,mormonism4 ,joseph came up to ,kirtland a few days afterwards and held a meeting in a large barn4 ,nearly all the inhabitants of ,kirtland turned out to hear him4 ,the barn was filled with people1 and others1 unable to get inside1 stood around the door as far as they could hear4 ,joseph arose in our midst and spoke in mighty power1 saying3 ,i can contend with wicked men and devils--yes with angels4 ,no power can pluck those keys from me1 except the power that gave them to me2 that was ,peter2 ,james and ,john4 ,but for what ,sidney has done1 the devil shall handle him as one man handles another4 ,thomas ,b4 ,marsh's wife went from the meeting and told ,sidney what ,joseph had said1 and he replied3 ,is it possible that ,i have been so deceived8 ,but if ,joseph says so1 it is so4 ,about three weeks after this1 ,sidney was lying on his bed alone4 ,an unseen power lifted him from his bed1 thew him across the room1 and tossed him from one side of the room to the other4 ,the noise being heard in the adjoining room1 his family went in to see what was the matter1 and found him going from one side of the room to the other1 from the effects of which ,sidney was laid up for five or six weeks4 ,thus was ,joseph's prediction in regard to him verified4 ,when ,joseph was ready to go back to ,hyrum1 ,i took him in my carriage4 ,soon afterwards ,i had occasion to visit ,hyrum again4 ,on my way there ,i was persuaded to stop at the ,hulet settlement and attend a meeting4 ,when ,i arrived at ,father ,johnson's the next morning1 ,joseph and ,sidney had just finished washing up from being tared and feathered the night before4 ,joseph said to ,sidney3 ,we can now go on our mission to ,jackson ,county 7alluding to a commandment given them while they were translating1 but which they concluded not to attend to until they had finished that work74 ,i felt to regret very much that ,i had not been with them the evening before1 but it was perhaps providential that ,i was not4 ,on a subsequent visit to ,hiram1 ,i arrived at ,father ,johnson's just as ,joseph and ,sidney were coming out of the vision alluded to in the ,book of ,doctrine and ,covenants1 in which mention is made of the three glories4 ,joseph wore black clothes1 but at this time seemed to be dressed in an element of glorious white1 and his face shone as if it were transparent1 but ,i did not see the same glory attending ,sidney4 ,joseph appeared as strong as a lion1 but ,sidney seemed as weak as water1 and ,joseph1 noticing his condition smiled and said1 ,brother ,sidney is not as used to it as ,i am4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,removal ,,to ,,missouri--,,the ,,saints' ,,guns ,,purchased ,,for ,,mobocrats ,,by ,a ,,sectarian ,,preacher--,,attack ,,of ,,the ,,mob ,,on ,,the ,,whitmer ,,settlement--,,the ,,writer ,,shot--,,subsequent ,,exposure ,,and ,,suffering--,,critical ,,condition--,,healed ,,miraculously--,,how ,,zion',s ,,camp ,,was ,,preserved ,,on ,,fishing ,,river--,a ,,vision4 ,in #ahcb ,i sold my possessions in ,ohio1 and1 we being called upon by ,joseph to advance monies to purchase the land in ,jackson ,county1 ,i paid fifty dollars for that purpose and also gave ,brother ,parley ,p4 ,pratt fifty dollars to assist him as a pioneer4 ,i was then called on for money to be placed in the hands of ,brothers ,whitney and ,gilbert1 who were going to ,new ,york to purchase goods to take up to ,jackson ,county1 and gave them three hundred dollars4 ,i joined in with a company led by ,brother ,thomas ,b4 ,marsh1 and arrived in ,independence1 ,jackson ,county1 on the #ajth of ,november4 ,i remained in ,independence until spring and then removed to the ,whitmer settlement1 farther west1 where ,i built a house1 fenced twenty acres of land and put in a garden4 ,in the fall of #ahcc1 a sectarian preacher by the name of ,m',coy came to the ,whitmer settlement where ,i was living to buy up all the guns he could1 representing that he wanted them for the ,indians4 ,we suspected no trouble1 and quite a number of us sold our guns to him4 ,the sequel of his action was1 however1 soon apparent to us1 for rumors soon reached us of mobs assembling and threats being made to drive us from the ,county4 ,when the mob first began to gather and threaten us1 ,i was selected to go to another ,county and buy powder and lead4 ,the brethren gave me the privilege of choosing a man to go with me4 ,i took with me a man by the name of ,john ,poorman4 ,we thought we were good for four of the mob4 ,we went to the town of ,liberty1 ,clay ,county1 and purchased the ammunition1 and returned safely4 ,soon after ,i returned a mob of about one hundred and fifty came upon us in the dead hour of night1 tore down a number of our houses and whipped and abused several of our brethren4 ,i was aroused from my sleep by the noise caused by the falling houses1 and had barely time to escape to the woods with my wife and two children when they reached my house and proceeded to break in the door and tear the roof off4 ,i was some distance away from where the whipping occurred1 but ,i heard the blows of heavy ox goads upon the backs of my brethren distinctly4 ,the mob also swore they would tear down our grist mill1 which was situated at the ,colesville branch1 about three miles from the settlement1 and lest they should really do so1 and as it was the only means we had of getting our grain ground1 we were counseled to gather there and defend it4 ,we accordingly proceeded there the next morning4 ,the following night two men came into our camp1 pretending they wanted to hire some men to work for them4 ,brother ,parley ordered them to be taken prisoners1 when one of them struck him a glancing blow on the head with his gun1 inflicting a severe wound4 ,we then disarmed them and kept them as prisoners until morning when we gave them back their arms and let them go4 ,the next day we heard firing down in the ,whitmer settlement1 and seventeen of our brethren volunteered to go down and see what it meant4 ,brother ,george ,beebe was one of these volunteers and also one of the men who was whipped the night previous4 ,a ,when these seventeen men arrived at the ,whitmer settlement1 the mob came against them and took some prisoners4 ,brother ,david ,whitmer brought us the news of this and said3 ,every man go1 and every man take a man6 ,footnote ,a3 ,brother ,beebe carried the marks of this whipping to his grave1 as the brethren who laid him out at the time of his death1 in ,december1 #ahha1 at ,provo1 ,utah ,county1 can testify4 ,we all responded and met the mob in battle1 in which ,i was wounded with an ounce ball and two buck shot1 all entering my body just at the right side of my navel4 ,the mob were finally routed1 and the brethren chased them a mile away ,several others of the brethren were also shot1 and one1 named ,barber1 was mortally wounded4 ,after the battle was over1 some of the brethren went to administer to him1 but he objected to their praying that he might live1 and asked them if they could not see the angels present4 ,he said the room was full of them1 and his greatest anxiety was for his friends to see what he saw1 until he breathed his last1 which occurred at three o'clock in the morning4 ,a young lawyer named ,bazill1 who came into ,independence and wanted to make himself conspicuous1 joined the mob1 and swore he would wade in blood up to his chin4 ,he was shot with two balls through his head1 and never spoke4 ,there was another man1 whose name ,i fail to remember1 that lived on the ,big ,blue1 who made a similar boast4 ,he was also taken at his word4 ,his chin was shot off1 or so badly fractured by a ball that he was forced to have it amputated1 but lived and recovered1 though he was a horrible sight afterwards4 ,after the battle ,i took my gun and powder horn and started for home4 ,when ,i got about half way ,i became faint and thirsty4 ,i wanted to stop at ,brother ,whitmer's to lay down4 ,the house1 however1 was full of women and children1 and they were so frightened that they objected to my entering1 as the mob had threatened that wherever they found a wounded man they would kill men1 women and children4 ,i continued on and arrived home1 or rather at a house in the field that the mob had not torn down1 which was near my own home4 ,there ,i found my wife and two children and a number of other women who had assembled4 ,i told them ,i was shot and wanted to lay down4 ,they got me on the bed1 but on thinking of what the mob had said1 became frightened1 and assisted me up stairs4 ,i told them1 however1 that ,i could not stay there1 my pain was so great4 ,they then got me down stairs again1 and my wife went out to see if she could find any of the brethren4 ,in searching for them she got lost in the woods and was gone two hours1 but learned that all the brethren had gone to the ,colesville branch1 three miles distant1 taking all the wounded with them save myself4 ,the next morning ,i was taken farther off from the road1 that ,i might be concealed from the mob4 ,i bled inwardly until my body was filled with blood1 and remained in this condition until the next day at five p4 m4 ,i was then examined by a surgeon who was in the ,black ,hawk war1 and who said that he had seen a great many men wounded1 but never saw one wounded as ,i was that ever lived4 ,he pronounced me a dead man4 ,david ,whitmer1 however1 sent me word that ,i should live and not die1 but ,i could see no possible chance to recover4 ,after the surgeon had left me1 ,brother ,newell ,knight came to see me1 and sat down on the side of my bed4 ,he laid his right hand on my head1 but never spoke4 ,i felt the ,spirit resting upon me at the crown of my head before his hand touched me1 and ,i knew immediately that ,i was going to be healed4 ,it seemed to form like a ring under the skin1 and followed down my body4 ,when the ring came to the wound1 another ring formed around the first bullet hole1 also the second and third4 ,then a ring formed on each shoulder and on each hip1 and followed down to the ends of my fingers and toes and left me4 ,i immediately arose and discharged three quarts of blood or more1 with some pieces of my clothes that had been driven into my body by the bullets4 ,i then dressed myself and went out doors and saw the falling of the stars1 which so encouraged the ,saints and frightened their enemies4 ,it was one of the grandest sights ,i ever beheld4 ,from that time not a drop of blood came from me and ,i never afterwards felt the slightest pain or inconvenience from my wounds1 except that ,i was somewhat weak from the loss of blood4 ,the next day ,i walked around the field1 and the day following ,i mounted a horse and rode eight miles1 and went three miles on foot4 ,the night of the battle many of the women and children ran into the woods4 ,one sister1 not being able to take all of her children with her1 left her little boy four years old in a corn shock1 where he remained until morning4 ,some went out on the burnt prairie4 ,the mob gathered and swore they would go and massacre them4 ,when they got ready to go1 the heavens were lit up with the falling of stars4 ,this brought to us a perfect redemption at that time4 ,the night of the battle1 the mob took all my household furniture1 and after my recovery ,i crossed the river to ,clay ,county1 leaving behind me a drove of hogs1 three cows and all of my crop1 which ,i never recovered4 ,in ,clay ,county ,i enjoyed some rest from persecution1 and had two children born to me1 ,emma and ,philo1 ,jun4 ,i was there when ,zion's camp came up4 ,i met them on ,fishing river4 ,there the power of the ,lord was manifested by ,his sending a thunder storm1 which raised ,fishing river ten feet higher than it was ever known to rise before4 ,i saw the cloud coming up in the west when ,i was ten miles from ,fishing river in the middle of the afternoon4 ,as it moved on eastwardly it increased in size and in blackness1 and when it got over the camp it stopped1 and in the night the rain and hail poured down in torrents1 and the lightning flashed from the cloud continuously for three hours4 ,just before night1 two men came into camp and asked where ,mr4 ,smith was4 ,joseph said1 ,i am the man4 ,they then advised him to disband his camp1 for1 said they1 the mob are gathering1 and there won't be one of you left to-morrow morning6 ,joseph smiled1 and said3 ,i guess not4 ,seeing that ,joseph did not believe what they came to tell him1 they went off vexed4 ,we learned afterwards that the hail was so heavy on the mob1 that they were forced to seek shelter1 and the leader of them swore he would never go against the ,mormons again4 ,zion's camp was disbanded on ,fishing river4 ,the leading men of ,liberty being desirous for peace1 called a meeting and invited our leading men to meet with them1 which they did4 ,they told our committee that if they could have peace1 we should have a ,county to ourselves1 and if we had not money enough to buy out the old settlers of ,caldwell ,county they would lend us money to buy them out4 ,this settled our difficulties at that time4 ,in the meantime a conference was held in ,liberty1 ,clay ,county1 at which ,i was ordained a ,teacher under the hands of ,david ,whitmer4 ,we then commenced settling ,caldwell ,county1 to which ,i removed1 built a house1 entered seven hundred and twenty acres of land and bought a lot in town4 ,i also entered land for many of the brethren1 and for this purpose had to go the distance of eighty miles1 where the land office was located4 ,on my return home1 when ,i got to ,liberty1 midway between ,lexington and ,far ,west1 ,i concluded ,i would travel from there home by night1 as it was very warm during the day4 ,the road led through a strip of timber for four miles1 and after that across a prairie for twenty miles4 ,when ,i had traveled about two-thirds of the way across the prairie1 riding on horseback1 ,i heard the cooing of the prairie hens4 ,i looked northward and saw1 apparently with my natural vision1 a beautiful city1 the streets of which ran north and south4 ,i also knew there were streets running east and west1 but could not trace them with my eye for the buildings4 ,the walks on each side of the streets were as white as marble1 and the trees on the outer side of the marble walks had the appearance of locust trees in autumn4 ,this city was in view for about one hour-and-a-half1 as near as ,i could judge1 as ,i traveled along4 ,when ,i began to descend towards the ,crooked river the timber through which ,i passed hid the city from my view4 ,every block in this mighty city had sixteen spires1 four on each corner1 each block being built in the form of a hollow square1 within which ,i seemed to know that the gardens of the inhabitants were situated4 ,the corner buildings on which the spires rested were larger and higher than the others1 and the several blocks were uniformly alike4 ,the beauty and grandeur of the scene ,i cannot describe4 ,while viewing the city the buildings appeared to be transparent4 ,i could not discern the inmates1 but ,i appeared to understand that they could discern whatever passed outside4 ,whether this was a city that has been or is to be ,i cannot tell4 ,it extended as far north as ,adam-ondi-,ahman1 a distance of about twenty-eight miles4 ,whatever is revealed to us by the ,holy ,ghost will never be forgotten4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,militia ,,organized ,,at ,,far ,,west--,,liberty ,,pole ,,struck ,,by ,,lightning--,,general ,,atchison ,,defends ,,the ,,prophet ,,in ,a ,,lawsuit--,,atchison ,,removed ,,from ,,office ,,for ,,being ,,friendly ,,to ,,the ,,saints--,,far ,,west ,,besieged--,,betrayed ,,for ,a ,,price--,,escape ,,to ,,quincy4 ,part of ,zion's camp went back to ,kirtland1 and also ,brother ,joseph1 but in consequence of the mobs and apostates the ,church organization in ,kirtland was broken up4 ,some of the apostates left ,kirtland and came up to ,far ,west4 ,they called meetings and told the people that ,joseph was a fallen prophet1 and they were determined to put ,david ,whitmer in his place4 ,some of the brethren1 including the president of the branch ,i lived in1 fell in with the views of the apostates4 ,i being a ,teacher in the branch1 took up a labor with them1 first going to our president and taking with me a ,deacon4 ,our president said if he had got to become an enemy to ,david to be a friend to ,joseph1 he could not be a friend to ,joseph4 ,he then called the branch together in order to put me out of office as a ,teacher1 but the branch sustained me4 ,he afterwards cited me to appear for trial before ,bishop ,partridge1 who gave me two weeks to make satisfaction1 and ,i appealed my case to the ,high ,council1 who decided there was no cause of action4 ,joseph and family soon arrived at ,far ,west4 ,soon after a regiment was organized by ,w4 ,w4 ,phelps1 ,geo4 ,m4 ,hinkle1 ,lyman ,wight and ,reed ,peck1 they having received their commissions from the governor4 ,an election of officers was called and ,g4 ,w4 ,robinson was elected colonel1 ,i lieutenant colonel and ,seymour ,brunson major4 ,while celebrating the #dth of ,july at ,far ,west1 there came up a thunder shower1 and the lightning struck our liberty pole and shivered it to pieces4 ,joseph walked around on the splinters and said3 ,as that pole was splintered1 so shall the nations of the earth be6 ,when the trouble with the mob commenced1 ,colonel ,robinson took about one-half of the force to ,adam-ondi-,ahman to defend that place4 ,joseph1 ,hyrum and ,sidney also went with them1 leaving me in command at ,far ,west4 ,the detachment returned in about four days4 ,a few days afterwards ,joseph ,smith and ,i took a walk out upon the prairie1 and in the course of our conversation ,i suggested to him to send for ,general ,atchison to defend him in the suit then brought against him1 as he was in command of the third division of the militia of the ,state of ,missouri1 and was a lawyer and a friend to law4 ,joseph made no reply1 but turned back immediately to ,far ,west1 and a man was selected1 with the best horse to be found1 to go to ,liberty for ,general ,atchison4 ,the next day ,general ,atchison came to ,far ,west with a hundred men and camped a little north of the town4 ,on consulting with ,joseph ,smith1 ,atchison told him that he did not want any one to go with them to his trial1 which was to take place midway between ,far ,west and ,adam-ondi-,ahman4 ,joseph at first hesitated about agreeing to this1 but ,atchison reassured him by saying3 ,my life for yours6 ,when they arrived at the place of trial quite a number of the mob had gathered1 and on seeing ,joseph commenced to curse and swear4 ,atchison1 however1 checked them by saying3 ,hold on boys1 if you fire the first gun there will not be one of you left6 ,joseph was cleared and came away unmolested4 ,soon afterwards the governor1 thinking ,atchison was too friendly towards the ,saints1 took his command from him and placed ,general ,clark in command of the militia4 ,shortly before ,far ,west was besieged1 ,i was taken sick1 and ,colonel ,hinkle came into military command under his old commission4 ,i gave up my horse1 saddle and bridle1 and also my rifle and sword for ,brother ,lysander ,gee to use in defense of our city4 ,when ,general ,clark's army came up against ,far ,west1 ,colonel ,hinkle betrayed the ,first ,presidency of the ,church into their hands for seven hundred and fifty dollars4 ,then ,joseph and ,hyrum1 ,sidney1 and ,lyman ,wight were taken by the mob1 who held a court-martial over them and sentenced them to be shot the next morning at eight o'clock on the public square4 ,lyman ,wight told them to shoot and be damned4 ,generals ,atchison and ,doniphan immediately rebelled against the decision1 and ,doniphan said1 if men were to be murdered in cold blood1 he would withdraw his troops1 which he did4 ,general ,atchison then went to ,liberty and gave a public dinner1 and delivered a speech1 in which he said1 ,if the governor does not restore my commission to me1 ,i will kill him1 so help me ,god6 ,on hearing this the audience became so enthusiastic that they took him upon their shoulders and carried him around the public square4 ,after the surrender of ,far ,west1 the mob sent officers to get me1 but finding that ,i was sick they went back and so reported4 ,they came the second time and went back and reported the same4 ,the third time they came they swore they would have me if they had to take me on a bed4 ,i lived one-and-a-half miles west of the town1 and told my folks if they could dress me and help me on my horse ,i would undertake to leave for ,quincy4 ,a young man named ,joel ,miles was to go with me to help me off and on my horse4 ,leaving ,far ,west on my left1 ,i arrived at ,quincy unmolested4 ,i will here digress from my narrative1 and state that while ,i was at ,far ,west the battle of ,crooked river occurred1 in which ,david ,w4 ,patten was killed1 also the massacre at ,haun's ,mill4 ,brother ,joseph had sent word by ,haun1 who owned the mill1 to inform the brethren who were living there to leave and come to ,far ,west1 but ,mr4 ,haun did not deliver the message4 ,i should also have mentioned that while at ,far ,west an election was held to elect an assessor4 ,isaac ,higbee1 myself and a ,missourian were the candidates4 ,the brethren held a caucus meeting and advised one of us to withdraw our name lest the ,missourian might gain the election1 and proposed that ,higbee and ,i cast lots for it4 ,two tickets were put into a hat for us to draw from4 ,there was a large crowd gathered around and ,joseph ,smith among them4 ,he said1 ,i am going to prophesy that ,philo will get it4 ,sure enough ,i drew it4 ,on my arrival in ,quincy1 knowing that our people would soon be flocking there in great numbers to cross the river1 ,i rented the ferry at nine dollars per day for thirty days4 ,i ran the boat about ten days and ferried the ,saints across on their own terms1 and still made money at it4 ,some of the brethren1 however1 on arriving1 assumed the right to dictate me1 and wanted that ,i should give up the ferry into their hands4 ,the man who owned it said if ,i would give it up he would release me from paying that day's rent1 which ,i agreed to do1 supposing it would go into the hands of the brethren4 ,but when ,i gave up the papers to him1 he informed the brethren that they must pay him full fare or else make boats and ferry themselves at half price4 ,this caused a great deal of extra and unnecessary expense to our people4 ,before ,i left ,far ,west1 ,i made arrangements with a man to bring my family through to ,quincy1 for which ,i paid him sixty dollars in gold on their arrival4 ,in the spring of #ahci1 ,sidney ,rigdon came to me and said he knew of a man who owned a farm three miles east of ,quincy and wanted to rent it to some good man whom he could recommend1 and that ,i could have the chance4 ,i gladly accepted the offer and rented the farm of two hundred acres4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,successful ,,farming--,,sickness--,,providential ,,recovery--,,inspired ,,to ,,preach--,,removal ,,to ,,nauvoo--,,death ,,of ,,my ,,wife--,,second ,,marriage--,,premonition ,,of ,,death--,,warning ,,from ,,the ,,prophet--,a ,,dream ,,and ,,its ,,fullfillment--,a ,,prophecy ,,and ,,its ,,fulfillment-,,evil ,,spirits ,,cast ,,out ,,of ,a ,,man--,,joseph ,,smith',s ,,trust ,,in ,,the ,,lord4 ,i took four other brethren--,simeon ,crandall and three of his sons1 to help me carry on the farm1 and we raised a heavy crop1 which took us all the fall and winter to market4 ,while living upon this farm1 ,i was taken sick4 ,dr4 ,williams attended me1 and after awhile said he could do no more for me4 ,i then called for the ,elders to administer to me and ,brother ,a4 ,j4 ,stewart1 his brother1 ,levi1 and ,brother ,killian were called in1 but before they arrived ,mr4 ,robbins1 of whom ,i rented the farm1 called to see me4 ,he declared that ,i might possibly live till three o'clock1 but could not live till morning4 ,when the ,elders administered to me1 ,brother ,killian being mouth1 ,i was in bed4 ,he poured the oil on my forehead and ,i jumped right out of bed and put on my clothes4 ,on hearing that ,robbins was going to ,quincy in the morning1 ,i walked up to his house1 three-quarters of a mile1 and went with him in his carriage to ,quincy1 remained all day and returned with him at night4 ,some of my gentile neighbors1 wishing to learn about ,mormonism1 sent to ,quincy for ,brother ,john ,p4 ,greene to come out and preach to them4 ,when he came1 he called at my house and wanted to know of me what subject he had better treat upon4 ,i told him were ,i in his place ,i should speak on the resurrection of the dead1 which he did4 ,there was a large congregation of members of various denominations present4 ,they were so well pleased with ,brother ,greene's remarks1 that they would not let him off until he left another appointment to preach4 ,before the appointed time arrived1 however1 ,brother ,greene was taken sick and could not come4 ,a large congregation had gathered at the place appointed1 and only three ,elders present--,a4 ,j4 ,stewart1 his brother ,levi1 and myself4 ,seeing the situation of things1 we consulted together as to what should be done1 when ,brother ,a4 ,j4 ,stewart said he would undertake to fill ,brother ,greene's appointment1 but that if he got baulked we must help him out4 ,i remarked ,i could not preach1 if ,i did it would only be like a sectarian telling his experience1 but said1 ,i will do the singing1 which ,i did4 ,brother ,stewart arose1 opened the ,bible and tried to read1 but had to spell his words1 and broke down and said that some of the brethren would take up the subject and go on with it4 ,he then called on me4 ,i arose to speak4 ,the ,holy ,ghost came down and enveloped me1 and ,i spoke for over two hours4 ,when ,i found the ,spirit leaving me ,i thought it time to close1 and told my hearers it was the first time ,i had spoken to a public congregation4 ,a ,brother ,mills who was present1 felt so well that he went home with me and declared that ,i had delivered the greatest discourse he had ever heard4 ,said ,i3 ,brother ,mills1 ,i don't know what ,i have said4 ,it was not me2 it was the ,lord6 ,in the spring of #ahdj1 ,i removed to ,nauvoo1 then called ,commerce1 which had been appointed by ,joseph for the gathering place4 ,during the next year my wife died1 and left me with five children1 two daughters and three sons4 ,i concluded to get my children homes and then travel and preach the gospel2 but when ,i had obtained homes for them ,i found ,i had not only lost my wife1 but also my children1 and they had not only lost their mother1 but also their father and each other's society4 ,on the #aath of ,february1 #ahda1 ,i married a second wife--a ,widow ,smith of ,philadelphia1 who was living in the family of the ,prophet4 ,he performed the ceremony at his house1 and ,sister ,emma ,smith insisted upon getting up a wedding supper for us4 ,it was a splendid affair1 and quite a large party of our friends were assembled4 ,i then rented a house of ,hyrum ,kimball on the river bank for ten dollars per month1 and kept a warehouse1 and also boarders and a bakery4 ,while there in business1 ,i saw in vision my grave before me for two weeks2 it mattered not whether my eyes were open or shut it was there1 and ,i saw no way of escape4 ,one day ,brother ,joseph came and took dinner with us1 and as we arose from the table ,i walked out upon the porch and sat down on a bench4 ,joseph and my wife followed me1 and he came before me and said3 ,philo1 you must get away from here or you will die1 as sure as ,god ever spoke by my mouth6 ,he then turned to my wife and said3 ,and you will hardly escape by the skin of your teeth6 ,i immediately stepped into ,joseph's carriage and rode with him to the south part of town and rented another place1 after which ,i settled up my business as fast as ,i could1 and made arrangements to remove4 ,many hearing of ,joseph's prediction about me1 said if they had been in my place they would have remained where ,i was and tested the truth of it1 but ,i assured them if they had been in my place they would have done just as ,i did4 ,after ,i had settled my business and removed my family1 we were one day at ,joseph's house1 when he said to my wife3 ,you didn't believe what ,i told ,philo the other day6 ,now1 ,i will tell you what the ,lord told me2 ,he told me to go and tell ,philo to come away from there1 and if he obeyed he should live2 if not he should die2 and ,i didn't want to see you a widow so soon again4 ,if ,philo had remained there fourteen days longer1 he would have been a corpse4 ,one night ,joseph came to my house about twelve o'clock1 and called me up4 ,i immediately went out to see what was wanted4 ,we went across the street to ,james ,allred's and called him up1 and we three went back to ,joseph's house4 ,on the way he told us that a flat boat with about thirty men had landed just below his house1 and that he had overheard some of their conversation4 ,they had made arrangements to kidnap him that night and sink him in the river4 ,brother ,allred and ,i went down to the river2 but they must have seen ,joseph's movements as we found nothing of them1 although we got up some more of the brethren and searched up and down the river4 ,when ,joseph and ,emma were preparing to go up the river to ,dixon1 to make a visit with some of her connections1 ,i was at their house4 ,the night before they started1 ,i had a dream1 in which ,i saw ,joseph taken prisoner and guarded by two men1 who after awhile left ,joseph in ,nauvoo and went off cursing and swearing4 ,the next morning ,i related my dream to ,joseph2 he listened to me but made no reply4 ,while visiting at ,dixon he was taken prisoner by a sheriff of ,missouri and an officer of ,illinois1 but instead of getting him over into ,missouri as they had planned to1 he was brought to ,nauvoo4 ,there they left ,joseph and went off cursing and swearing1 just as ,i had heard them in my dream4 ,when1 on the advice of the ,prophet1 ,i quit my situation on the river1 my wife felt so bad at the loss of my business prospects that she said we might as well die by the sword as by famine4 ,i asked her if she thought it would be worse for us temporally to obey the word of the ,lord4 ,i prophesied that before the year would pass away it would be better for us than if we had remained there4 ,wm4 ,pratt had three city lots upon which he was owing a debt of one hundred dollars1 and said if ,i would raise the money ,i might have my choice of the three4 ,i raised the money all but three dollars1 but was at a loss to know how to get the balance4 ,it was a hard time to borrow money4 ,on my way to ,brother ,pratt's1 ,i picked up three dollars in the street1 ,brother ,stephen ,goddard being with me at the time4 ,i then took the three dollar bill which ,i found to ,bishop ,whitney's and requested him to take the number of it1 and if an owner came for it to say that ,i would refund it to him1 but that ,i wanted the use of it a few days4 ,i soon sold the lot for four hundred dollars1 and then asked my wife if my prophecy was not fulfilled4 ,one of my neighbors1 a ,brother ,james ,moses1 who lived across the street from me1 was taken sick1 and for six weeks was not able to speak above his breath4 ,i went occasionally to see him1 and one day while there ,brother ,bills and ,i were asked by ,sister ,moses to administer to him1 which we did4 ,she then asked us what we thought of him1 and ,i replied that ,i had no testimony that he would live or that he would die2 but she might as well pour water upon fire to make it burn as to give him medicine4 ,this offended her1 as she had a doctor by the name of ,green attending him1 and we left4 ,soon after this ,brother ,kimball 7one of the ,apostles7 was called on to administer to him1 when ,sister ,moses asked him what he thought of her husband's condition4 ,he replied in the very words that ,i had used1 but advised them to hold on to him4 ,brother ,bills and ,i happening to call in again to see him1 we were asked if we would anoint him4 ,i consented and stepped up to the bed to put some oil on his forehead1 but felt impressed to stop and say that he was possessed of evil spirits1 and that they would kill him if they were not cast out before morning4 ,he then commenced raving1 and might have been heard across the street4 ,the ,twelve ,apostles were sent for and three of them came1 ,brother ,w4 ,richards being one of them1 who was mouth in prayer1 as we all knelt in the room4 ,after prayer1 ,brother ,richards went to the bed1 and1 in the name of ,jesus ,christ1 commanded the evil spirits to leave him and leave the house1 which they did instantly1 and ,brother ,moses became rational4 ,he afterwards told us all about his feelings while the evil spirits had afflicted him1 and that he was as sore as a boil all over from the effects of what he had passed through4 ,when ,joseph first came to ,nauvoo1 then called ,commerce1 a ,mr4 ,white1 living there1 proffered to sell him his farm for twenty-five hundred dollars1 five hundred dollars of the amount to be paid down1 and the balance one year from that time4 ,joseph and the brethren were talking about this offer when some of them said3 ,we can't buy it1 for we lack the money4 ,joseph took out his purse1 and1 emptying out its contents1 offered a half dollar to one of the brethren1 which he declined accepting1 but ,joseph urged him to take it1 and then gave each of the other brethren a similar amount1 which left him without any4 ,addressing the brethren1 he then said3 ,now you all have money1 and ,i have none2 but the time will come when ,i will have money and you will have none6 ,he then said to ,bishop ,knight3 ,you go back and buy the farm6 ,brother ,knight went to ,white1 but learned from him that he had raised the price one hundred dollars1 and returned to ,joseph without closing the bargain4 ,joseph again sent him with positive orders to purchase1 but ,brother ,knight1 finding that ,white had raised the price still another hundred dollars1 again returned without purchasing4 ,for the third time then ,joseph commanded him to go and buy the farm1 and charged him not to come back till he had done so4 ,when ,bishop ,knight got back to ,white1 he had raised another hundred on the place1 making the whole amount twenty-eight hundred dollars4 ,however1 the bargain was closed and the obligations drawn up1 but how the money was going to be raised neither ,brother ,knight nor the other ,brethren could see4 ,the next morning ,joseph and several of the brethren went down to ,mr4 ,white's to sign the agreement and make the first payment on the land4 ,a table was brought out with the papers upon it1 and ,joseph signed them1 moved back from the table and sat with his head down1 as if in thought for a moment4 ,just then a man drove up in a carriage and asked if ,mr4 ,smith was there4 ,joseph hearing it1 got up and went to the door4 ,the man said1 ,good morning1 ,mr4 ,smith2 ,i am on a speculation to-day4 ,i want to buy some land1 and thought ,i would come and see you4 ,joseph then pointed around where his land lay1 but the man said3 ,i can't go with you to-day to see the land4 ,do you want any money this morning8 ,joseph replied that he would like some1 and when the stranger asked ,how much8 he told him ,five hundred dollars4 ,the man walked into the house with ,joseph1 emptied a small sack of gold on the table1 and counted out that amount4 ,he then handed to ,joseph another hundred dollars1 saying3 ,mr4 ,smith1 ,i make you a present of this6 ,after this transpired1 ,joseph laughed at the brethren and said3 ,you trusted in money2 but ,i trusted in ,god4 ,now ,i have money and you have none4 ,transcriber's ,note3 ,some apparent printer's errors 7such as jonrney instead of journey and appeaance instead of appearance7 have been resolved4