A Trip to Nauvoo

trip, written by Elder G. A. Gamble, giving further particulars of the noteworthy and interesting event. Editors.]

In company with Mrs. Gamble, Sister Ammussen and her son Joseph, had the pleasure of attending the meeting of the North- I

ern and the Southern IlUnois conferences, held at Nauvoo, III, September 30, 1905. It was a trip which I had long desired to make and, although

A TRIP TO NAUVOO. 47

our time was very much needed for our studies in school, we glad- ly arranged to go to this historic city, from which the Saints were driven some sixty years ago. Most of the Saints and elders had headquarters at the Oriental Hotel, and the meetings, with one exception, were held in the City Hall, which stands on the east side of the Temple block. Three meetings were held daily, and were well attended. On Sunday morning, we held "fast-day" meeting in the famous Riverside Mansion House, and so great was the manifestation of the Spirit of the Lord that many of the Saints and elders were moved to tears. Among those present was Elder Lorin Farr, aged eighty-six, one of the pioneers who lived in Nauvoo at the time of the expul- sion. He stopped in Chicago, on his way to the east from Utah, and at the earnest solicitation of President German E. Ellsworth, took advantage of the opportunity to visit the home of his boy- hood, after an absence of sixty-one years. He bore a strong testimony to the truthfulness of the gospel, and related many in- teresting incidents connected with the history of the Church. He was personally acquainted with the Prophet Joseph Smith, having lived with him for several years, in the Mansion House, and he testified to the fact that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet of God.

He said that he was an honest man; that he was a pure man, in every sense of the term, and that he had never met a man whom he thought more of than he did of the Prophet Joseph Smith. The fact that sixty-one years after being driven from Nauvoo, Brother Farr should be able to return and, in his eighty-seventh year, to stand as a living monument to a righteous cause, was inspiring to the hearts of all the Latter-day Saints present. "By their fruits ye shall know them," and by walking in the counsel of the Prophet of God, and other leaders of the Church, Elder Farr has been blessed of the Lord temporally and spiritually, and has also the honor of having one of the largest, if not the largest posterity of any man living in the United States. During the time of the conference at Nauvoo, the Saints and elders visited the home of the Prophet, known as the Mansion, and at the invitation of the present incumbents, sang several songs of Zion. No words can express the feeling of those who were per-

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48 IMPROVEMENT ERA.

mitted to stand in the house, made sacred by the memories of the- Prophet who dwelt there up to the time of his martyrdom, and sing the old familiar song:

Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah Jesus anointed that Prophet and Seer, Blessed to open the last dispensation; Kings shall extol him and nations revere.

Hail to the Prophet, ascended to heaven Traitors and tyrants now fight him in vain; Mingling with Gods, he can plan for his brethren'; Death cannot conquer the hero again.

Praise to his mem'ry, he died as a martyr! Honored and blessed be his ever great name Long shall his blood, which was shed by assassins, Stain Illinois, while the earth lauds his fame.

Today the blood of the Prophet can be seen on the floor of the jail, and on the floor of the Hamilton house, where he and his brother were laid when murdered, as a literal fulfilment of the prophecy, in the above lines. And the singing of these songs upon this occasion, and the preaching of the gospel of Christ, was not without effect, as three days later, October 3, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Grimes and their daugh- ter Sylvia, who reside in the old Mansion, were baptized at the foot of main street, opposite the Riverside Mansion. Eight elders and a number of other witnesses were present. During the conference President German E. Ellsworth, of the Northern States mission, delivered several soul-stirring exhorta- tions, and his remarks were inspiring to the Saints and elders, and

convincing to the audience which filled the large hall to its full capacity. So harmonious was the spirit, and so common were the expressions of cheer and welcome from those not of the faith, that the congregation lingered long after the meeting was dismissed. One man, an old citizen of Nauvoo, but not a member of the Church, offered to donate a very desirable lot on which to erect a church house, if desired, and urged the Saints to come back to Nauvoo. As another striking proof of the power of the gospel. Sis- ter Julia P. Ervin, of Carthage, 111., was present during the con-

A TRIP TO NAUVOO. 49

ference. She is a new convert, and has the distinction of living within about seven blocks of the historic jail, in which the Prophet was murdered. During the famous "Smoot Investigation," Sister Ervin was induced to sign a petition favoring the unseating of Senator Smoot, but she signed it like many other women, without investigating, but it was doubtless the means of causing her to in- vestigate the gospel, and, when convinced of its truth, she accepted it in the face of great opposition. While at Nauvoo, we had the pleasure of visiting the former homes of Presidents Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Wood- ruff, Lorenzo Snow, and those of many others of the Saints who

have figured conspicuously in the history of the Church. Although the Saints were not permitted to dwell at Nauvoo, only about five years, entering the place when it was practically a wilderness, they had succeeded in building up comfortable homes, most of them occupying good brick houses which stand today in a splendid state of preservation, as witnesses to the energy and thrift of God's people. In refutation of the oft-repeated falsehood that the people called "Mormons" did not labor for their own maintenance, they have proved to the world that they were able to stand alone, and without the sympathy of the outside world. Being driven out from their comfortable homes, in the dead of winter, after entering the valley of the Great Salt Lake in a penniless condition, they have there built up a commonwealth which has astonished the world. It is too late a day for people of the world to brand the Saints with being ignorant, dishonest or immoral, and be believed. It is too late for intelligent people to repeat the many false accu- sations which have been hurled at the Saints for the past seventy- five years, and refuted at all times when opportunity offered. To- day, the most intelligent men and women of the world, regardless of religious convictions, are ready to accord to the Saints equal rights to be heard; and thousands of people, both who live in Utah, and who have visited Utah, speak in words of praise for the Latter- day Saints. It is evident that a new era is dawning upon us, and we bear our testimony to the truth of the gospel as it has been revealed in this the last dispensation. I know that Joseph Smith

is a Prophet of God, and all who seek earnestly for the truth will

be given a like testimony and knowledge. Kirksville, Mo., October 8, 1905.