CHAPTER IV.

THE STORY OF MORMONISM.

1830-1835.

PARLEY PRATT'S CONVERSION-MISSION TO THE LAMANITES-THE MISSIONARIES AT KIRTLAND-CONVERSION OF SIDNEY RIGDON-MORMON SUCCESS AT KIRTLAND-THE MISSIONARIES IN MISSOURI-RIGDON VISITS SMITH-EDWARD PARTRIDGE-THE MELCHISEDEC PRIESTHOOD GIVENSMITH AND RIGDON JOURNEY TO MISSOURI - BIBLE TRANSLATION— SMITH'S SECOND VISIT TO MISSOURI-UNEXAMPLED PROSPERITY-CAUSES OF PERSECUTIONS-MOBOCRACY-THE SAINTS are Driven frOM JACKSON COUNTY TREACHERY OF BOGGS-MILITARY Organization at Kirtland -THE NAME LATTER-DAY SAINTS-MARCH TO MISSOURI.

ONE evening as Hyrum Smith was driving cows along the road toward his father's house, he was overtaken by a stranger, who inquired for Joseph Smith, translator of the book of Mormon. "He is now residing in Pennsylvania, a hundred miles away," was the reply.

"And the father of Joseph?"

"He also is absent on a journey. That is his house yonder, and I am his son."

The stranger then said that he was a preacher of the word; that he had just seen for the first time a copy of the wonderful book; that once it was in his hands he could not lay it down until he had devoured it, for the spirit of the Lord was upon him as he read, and he knew that it was true; the spirit of the Lord had directed him thither, and his heart was full of joy.

Hyrum gazed at him in amazement; for converts of this quality, and after this fashion, were not common in those days of poverty and sore trial. He was little more than a boy, being but twenty-three,

and of that fresh, fair innocence which sits only on a youthful face beaming with high enthusiasm. But it was more than a boy's soul that was seen through those eyes of deep and solemn earnestness; it was more than a boy's strength of endurance that was indicated by the broad chest and comely, compact limbs; and more than a boy's intelligence and powers of reasoning that the massive brow betokened.

Hyrum took the stranger to the house, and they passed the night in discourse, sleeping little. The convert's name was Parley P. Pratt. He was a native of Burlington, New York, and born April 12, 1807. His father was a farmer of limited means and education, and though not a member of any religious society, had a respect for all. The boy had a passion for books; the bible especially he read over and over again with deep interest and enthusiasm. He early manifested strong religious feeling; mind and soul seemed all on fire as he read of the patriarchs and kings of the old testament, and of Christ and his apostles of the new. In winter at school, and in summer at work, his life passed until he was sixteen, when he went west with his father William, some two hundred miles on foot, to Oswego, two miles from which town they bargained for a thickly wooded tract of seventy acres, at four dollars an acre, paying some seventy dollars in cash. After a summer's work for wages back near the old home, and a winter's work clearing the forest farm, the place was lost through failure to meet the remaining payments. Another attempt to make a forest home, this time in Ohio, thirty miles west of Cleveland, was more successful; and after much toil and many hardships, he found himself, in 1827, comfortably established there, with Thankful Halsey as his wife.

Meanwhile religion ran riot through his brain. His mind, however, was of a reasoning, logical caste. "Why this difference," he argued, "between the ancient and modern Christians, their doctrines and their

practice? Had I lived and believed in the days of the apostles, and had so desired, they would have said, 'Repent, be baptized, and receive the holy ghost.' The scriptures are the same now as then; why should not results be the same?" In the absence of anything better, he joined the baptists, and was immersed; but he was not satisfied. In 1829 Sidney Rigdon, of whom more hereafter, preached in his neighborhood; he heard him and was refreshed. It was the ancient gospel revived-repentance, baptism, the gift of the holy ghost. And yet there was something lackingthe authority to minister; the power which should accompany the form of apostleship. At length he and others, who had heard Rigdon, organized a society on the basis of his teachings, and Parley began to preach. The spirit working in him finally compelled him to abandon his farm and go forth to meet his destiny, he knew not whither. In this frame of mind he wandered eastward, and while his family were visiting friends, he came upon the book of Mormon and Hyrum Smith. Now did his soul find rest. Here was inspiration and revelation as of old; here was a new dispensation with attendant signs and miracles.

As he left Smith's house the following morning, having an appointment to preach some thirty miles distant, Hyrum gave him a copy of the sacred book. Travelling on foot, and stopping now and then to rest, he read at intervals, and found to his great joy that soon after his ascension Christ had appeared in his glorified body to the remnant of the tribe of Joseph in America, that he had administered in person to the ten lost tribes, that the gospel had been revealed and written among nations unknown to the apostles, and that thus preserved it had escaped the corruptions of the great and abominable church.

Returning to Smith's house, Parley demanded of Hyrum baptism. They went to Whitmer's, where they were warmly welcomed by a little branch of the church there assembled. The new convert was bap

tized by Cowdery, and was ordained an elder. He continued to preach in those parts with great power. Congregations were moved to tears, and many heads of families came forward and accepted the faith. Then he went to his old home. His father, mother, and some of the neighbors believed only in part; but his brother Orson, nineteen years of age, embraced with eagerness the new religion, and preached it from that time forth. Returning to Manchester, Parley for the first time met Joseph Smith, who received him warmly, and asked him to preach on Sunday, which he did, Joseph following with a discourse.

Revelations continued, now in the way of command, and now in the spirit of prophecy. In Harmony, to the first elder it was spoken: "Magnify thine office; and after thou hast sowed thy fields and secured them, go speedily unto the churches which are in Colesville, Fayette, and Manchester, and they shall support thee; and I will bless them, both spiritually and temporally; but if they receive thee not, I will send on them a cursing instead of a blessing, and thou shalt shake the dust off thy feet against them as a testimony, and wipe thy feet by the wayside." And to Cowdery, thus: "Oliver shall continue in bearing my name before the world, and also to the church; and he shall take neither purse nor scrip, neither staves nor even two coats." To Emma, wife of Joseph: "Thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou art an elect lady, whom I have called; and thou shalt comfort thy husband, my servant Joseph, and shalt go with him, and be unto him as a scribe in the absence of my servant Oliver, and he shall support thee." Emma was also further directed to make a selection of hymns to be used in church.1

'The hymn-book of Emma Smith does not appear to have been published, but a little book containing hymns selected by Brigham Young passed through eight editions up to 1849, the eighth being published in Liverpool in that year. Smucker's Hist. of Mor., 57-61; Millennial Star, iv. 150-1. The preface to the first edition was signed by Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, and John

In the presence of six elders, at Fayette, in September 1830, came the voice of Jesus Christ, promising them every blessing, while the wicked should be destroyed. The millennium should come; but first dire destruction should fall upon the earth, and the great and abominable church should be cast down. Hiram Page renounced his stone. David Whitmer was ordered to his father's house, there to await further instructions. Peter Whitmer junior, Parley P. Pratt, and Ziba Peterson were directed to go with Oliver and assist him in preaching the gospel to the Lamanites, that is to say, to the Indians in the west, the remnant of the tribe of Joseph. Thomas B. Marsh was promised that he should begin to preach. Miracles were limited to casting out devils and healing the sick. Wine for sacramental purposes must not be bought,

but made at home.2

Taking with them a copy of the revelation assigning to them this work, these first appointed missionaries set out, and continued their journey, preaching in the villages through which they passed, and stopping at Buffalo to instruct the Indians as to their ancestry, until they came to Kirtland, Ohio. There they remained some time, as many came forward and embraced their faith, among others Sidney Rigdon, a preaching elder in the reformed baptist church, who presided over a congregation there, a large portion of whom likewise became interested in the latter-day

church.3

Taylor. The preface to the ninth edition, published at Liverpool and London in 1851, is by Franklin D. Richards, who states that 54,000 copies of the several editions have been sold in the European missions alone within eleven years. Several editions have since been published in Europe and America. Smith says: In order to prepare for this (confirmation) I set out to go to procure some wine for the occasion, but had gone only a short distance when I was met by a heavenly messenger, and received the revelation.' Millennial Star, iv. 151; Times and Seasons, iv. 117-18.

·

At the town of Kirtland, two miles from Rigdon's residence, was a number of the members of his church who lived together, and had all things in common, from which circumstance, Smith says, the idea arose that this was the case with the Mormon believers. To these people the missionaries repaired and preached with some success, gathering in seventeen on the first occasion. Rigdon after spending some time in the study of the book of Mor