Chapter IX. Rise of the Church

Re-establishment of the Ancient Methods. The three Witnesses. Joseph the Architect of the Latter-Day Dispensation. Organization of the Church. The first Miracle. Joseph Arrested and Tried for Casting Out a Devil. Continuation of his Narrative.

THE FIRST MIRACLE JOSEPH ARRESTED AND

TRIED FOR CASTING OUT A DEVIL CONTINUA- TION OF HIS NARRATIVE.

From the administration of John the Baptist dates the rise of the Church, though it did not receive organic form until the following year.

There were now two baptized disciples of the great Latter-day Work — Joseph and Oliver. This is a fine illustration of the strictness of gospel methods as interpreted by the Prophet, and strikingly brings up the example of Jesus coming to John for baptism in Jordan.

" Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness."

It will also be observed that though John the Baptist connected the links from the ancients, and restored to earth the keys of a priesthood belonging to the lineage of his fathers, Joseph and Oliver baptized each other members of the Church, and ordained each other to the Aaronic ministry. Thus

was the everlasting order of the priesthood reestablished ; and the example was of supreme importance to the Church, settling forever the law that all must enter into the Kingdom of God through the waters of baptism, under the hands of one having authority.

Quickly now arose the Church, and from disciple to disciple the proclamation spread that "a. great and marvelous work was about to come forth among the children of men."

" Our minds being now enlightened," says Joseph, "we began to have the Scriptures laid open to our understandings, and the true meaning of their more mysterious passages revealed unto us in a manner which we never could attain to previously, nor ever before had thought of. In the meantime we were forced to keep secret the circumstances of our having been baptized and having received the priesthood, owing to a spirit of persecution which had already manifested itself in the neighborhood. * * After a few days, however, we commenced to reason out of the Scriptures with our acquaintances and friends, as we happened to meet them. About this time my brother Samuel H. Smith came to visit us. We informed him of what the Lord was about to do for the children of men, and to reason with him out of the Bible. We also showed him that part of the work which we had translated, and labored to persuade him concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ which was now about to be revealed in its fullness. He was not, however, very easily persuaded of these things, but after much inquiry and explanation he retired to the woods, in order that by secret and

fervent prayer he might obtain of a merciful God, wisdom to enable him to judge for himself. The result was that he obtained' revelations sufficient to convince him of the truth of our assertions to him, and on the 15th day of that same month in which we had been baptized and ordained, Oliver Cowdery baptized him ; and he returned to his father's house greatly glorifying and praising God, being filled with the Holy Spirit."

Not many days afterwards his brother Hyrum Smith came, when, at his earnest request, Joseph enquired of the Lord, through the Urim and Thummim, and received for him a revelation. It was to him also the proclamation of the coming forth of "a great and marvelous work." "Behold, the field is white already to harvest ; therefore, whoso desireth to reap, let him thrust in his sickle with all his might and reap while the day lasts."

"About the same time," says Joseph, "came an old gentleman to visit us, of whose name I wish to make honorable mention — Mr. Joseph Knight, sen., of Colesville, Broome Co., N. Y., who having heard of the manner in which we were occupying our time, very kindly and considerately brought us a quantity of provisions, in order that we might not be interrupted in the work of translation by the want of such necessaries of life ; and I would just mention here, as in duty bound, that he several times brought us supplies (a distance of at least thirty miles), which enabled us to continue the work, which otherwise we must have relinquished for a season." , He also enquired of the Lord, and received

answer similar to that given to Hyrum, previously. The familiar narrative of Joseph continues:

" Shortly after commencing to translate, I became acquainted with Mr. Peter Whitmer, of Fayette, Seneca Co., N. Y., and also with some of his family. In the beginning of the month of June, his son, David Whitmer, came to the place where we were residing, and brought with him a two-horse wagon, for the purpose of having us accompany him to his father's place, and there remain until we should finish the work. He proposed that we should have our board free of charge, and the assistance of one of his brothers to write for me, as also his own assistance when convenient.

" Having much need of such timely aid in an undertaking so arduous, and being informed that the people of the neighborhood were anxiously awaiting the opportunity to enquire into these things, we accepted the invitation, and accompanied Mr. Whitmer to his father's house, and there resided until the translation was finished and the copyright secured. Upon our arrival, we found Mr. Whitmer's family very anxious concerning the work, and very friendly toward ourselves. They continued so, boarded and lodged us according to proposal, and John Whitmer, in particular, assisted us very much in writing during the remainder of the work.

" In the meantime, David, John, and Peter Whitmer, jun., became our zealous friends and assistants in the work, and being anxious to know their respective duties, and having desired with much earnestness that I should enquire of the Lord concerning them, I did so."

These all received nearly the same proclamation, concerning the rise of the Latter-day Church ; and it may be here noticed that these revelations and those received during the next two or three years, for the enquiring disciples as they came, have given the subject matter to the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. In those days the revelations were historical links of the Church, but given here would be but as a collection of documents, all of which may be found embodied in the book above mentioned.

In Seneca Co., Joseph and his few disciples found the people in general friendly, and disposed to enquire into the truth of the strange tidings which began to be noised abroad, and many opened their houses for the preaching of the new gospel. In the same month (June, 1829,) Hyrum Smith, David Whitmer, and Peter Whitmer, jun., were baptized in Seneca Lake, the two former by Joseph, and the latter by Oliver Cowdery. From this time forth many became believers and were baptized.

In the course of translation it was found that " three special witnesses were to be provided by the Lord, to whom he would grant that they should see the plates." Joseph thereupon enquired of the Lord, by the usual method, and obtained a revelation indicating Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris, as the "three special witnesses" of the Book of Mormon. The fulfillment of the promise shall be told by the Prophet himself, as shall all other matters strictly forming the Testament of the Latter Days. He says:

" Not many days after the above commandment

was given, we four, viz.: Mart.'n Harris, David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery and myself, agreed to retire into the woods, and try to obtain by fervent and humble prayer, the fulfillment of the promises given in the revelation, that they should have a view of the plates, etc. We accordingly made choice of a piece of woods convenient to Mr. Whitmer's house, to which we retired, and having knelt down we began to pray in much faith to Almighty God to bestow upon us a realization of these promises. According to previous arrangements I commenced by vocal prayer to our Heavenly Father, and was followed by each of the rest in succession. We did not, however, obtain any answer or manifestation of the divine favor in our behalf. We again observed the same order of prayer, each calling on, and praying fervently to God in rotation, but with the same result as before. Upon this, our second failure, Martin Harris proposed that he should withdraw himself from us, believing, as he expressed himself, that his presence was the cause of our not obtaining what we wished for. He accordingly withdrew from us, and we knelt down again, and had not been many minutes engaged in prayer, when presently we beheld a light above us in the air, of exceeding brightness; and, behold, an angel stood before us. In his hands he held the plates which we had been praying for these to have a view of. He turned over the leaves, one by one, so that we could see them, and discover the engravings thereon distinctly. He then addressed himself to David Whitmer, and said, ' David, blessed is the Lord, and he that keeps his commandments.' When

immediately afterwards, we heard a voice from out of the bright light above us, saying, 'These plates have been revealed by the power of God, and they have been translated by the power of God. The translation of them which you have seen is correct, and I command you to bear record of what you now see and hear.'

" I now left David and Oliver, and went in pursuit of Martin Harris, whom I found at a considerable distance fervently engaged in prayer. He soon told me, however, that he had not yet prevailed with the Lord, and earnestly requested me to join him in prayer, that he also might realize the same blessings which we had just received. We accordingly joined in prayer, and ultimately obtained our desires, for before we had yet finished, the same vision was opened to our view, — at least it was again to me, and I once more beheld and heard the same things, whilst at the same moment, Martin Harris cried out, apparently in ecstacy of joy, ' 'Tis enough; mine eyes have beheld,' and jumping up, he shouted hosannah, blessing God, and otherwise rejoiced exceedingly."

The three witnesses now drew up their testimony " to all nations, kindreds, tongues and people ;" and soon afterward "eight witnesses" were added, who also drew up their testimony. Their names were Christian Whitmer, Jacob Whitmer, Peter Whitmer, jun., John Whitmer, Hyrum Page, Joseph Smith, sen., Hyrum Smith, and Samuel H. Smith. Their testimonies may be found introducing the Book of Mormon.

Meantime the Prophet and his scribe continued

the work of translation, and disciples nocked to their standard.

" We now became anxious," says Joseph, " to have that promise realized to us, which the angel that conferred upon us the Aaronic priesthood had given us, viz. : that provided we continued faithful, we should also have the Melchisidec priesthood, which holds the authority of the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. We had for some time made this matter a subject of humble prayer, and at length we got together in the chamber of Mr. Whitmer's house, in order more particularly to seek of the Lord what we now so earnestly desired; and here, to our unspeakable satisfaction, did we realize the truth of the Saviour's promise — ' Ask, and you shall receive ; seek, and you shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you ; ' for we had not long been engaged in solemn and fervent prayer, when the word of the Lord came unto us in the chamber, commanding us that I should ordain Oliver Cowdery to be an elder in the church of Jesus Christ, and that he also should ordain me to the same office, and then to ordain others as it should be made known unto us from time to time. We were, however, commanded to defer this, our ordination, until such times as it should be practicable to have our brethren, who had been and who should be baptized, assembled together, when we must have their sanction to our thus proceeding to ordain each other, and have them decide by vote whether they were willing to accept us as spiritual teachers or not, when also we were commanded to bless bread and break it with them, and to take

wine, bless it and drink it with them, afterward proceeding to ordain each other according to commandment, then call out such men as the spirit should dictate and ordain them, and then attend to the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, upon all those whom we had previously baptized, doing all things in the name of the Lord."

Immediately upon this was given a revelation, thus headed: "Revelation to Joseph Smith, jun., Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer, making known the calling of Twelve Apostles in these last days; and also instructions relative to building up the Church of Christ, according to the fullness of the Gospel. Given in Fayette, N. Y., June, 1829." [See Doc. and Cov.]

It has often been remarked that the Twelve Apostles were not called until years after the organization of the Church, namely, in 1835, just before the completion of the Kirtland Temple. But it will be seen that the revelation " making known the calling of Twelve Apostles in these last days" was given in 1829, before the organization of the Church. How significant is this passage:

" And now, behold, I give unto you, Oliver Cowdery, and also unto David Whitmer, that you shall search out the Twelve, who shall have the desires of which I have spoken, and by their desires and their works you shall know them ; and when you have found them, you shall show these things unto them."

The calling of the Twelve was no after-thought. Joseph is seen to be the perfect master and architect of the dispensation before the foundation of

the Church was laid. He was but waiting the coming of his Twelve ; and he did not attempt to call his Apostles until he had around him Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, Parley P. Pratt and Orson Pratt. These were of the "first twelve" chosen. Besides others were in the Church, or ready to enter, to "bear off the Kingdom," such as Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith and John Taylor. These eight were really the Apostles who have been chief in founding the Church at home and abroad, and in fulfilling the revelation given in 1829.

It was wise in Joseph thus to wait for the coming of men worthy to be his compeers. There is, in his life, no better example of his wondrous genius as a church-founder. He was truly and completely the Prophet of the Kingdom. His Twelve Apostles were but his master-builders, working out his inspired plan.

The translation of the Book of Mormon being nearly finished, Joseph and his scribe went to Palmyra and secured the copyright, and agreed with Mr. Egbert Grandon to print five thousand copies for the sum of three thousand dollars.

The Book of Mormon was now in press, but the Prophet waited not for its publication before laying the foundation of the Latter-day Church. Possessed fully with the spirit of the revelations which had been given through him, proclaiming that a great and marvelous work was about to come forth and that the field was ripe for the harvest, he made known to the brethren that he had received a commandment to organize the Church. Accordingly

they met (six in number) at the house of Mr. Peter Whitmer, in Fayette, Seneca Co., N. Y., on Tuesday, the 6th day of April, 1830. The event is best told by Joseph. He says:

" Having opened the meeting by solemn prayer to our Heavenly Father, we proceeded, according to previous commandment, to call on our brethren to know whether they accepted us as their teachers in the things of the kingdom of God, and whether they were satisfied that we should proceed and be organized as a church according to said commandment which we had received. To these they consented by an unanimous vote. I then laid my hands upon Oliver Cowdery and ordained him an elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; after which he ordained me also to the office of an elder of said church. We then took bread, blessed it and broke it with them, also wine, blessed it and drank it with them. We then laid our hands on each individual member of the Church present, that they might receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and be confirmed members of the Church of Christ. The Holy Ghost was poured out upon us to a very great degree — some prophesied, whilst we all praised the Lord and rejoiced exceedingly. Whilst yet together I received the following commandment :

I-. Behold there shall be a record kept among you, and in it thou shalt be called a seer, a translator, a prophet, an apostle of Jesus Christ, an elder of the church through the will of God the Father, and the grace of your Lord Jesus Christ, being inspired of the Holy Ghost to lay the foundation thereof, and to build it up unto the most holy faith,

which church was organized and established in the year of your Lord eighteen hundred and thirty, in the fourth month, and on the sixth day of the month, which is called April.

2. Wherefore, meaning the church, thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me; for his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith ; for by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you ; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name's glory. For thus saith the Lord God, him have I inspired to move the cause of Zion in mighty power for good, and his diligence I know, and his prayers I have heard, yea his weeping for Zion I have seen, and I will cause that he shall mourn for her no longer, for his davs of rejoicing are come unto the remission of his sins, and the manifestations of my blessings upon his works.

3. For, behold, I will bless all those who labor in my vineyard, with a mighty blessing, and they shall believe on his words, which are given him through me by the Comforter, which manifesteth that Jesus was crucified by sinful men for the sins of the world, yea, for the remission of sins unto the contrite heart. Wherefore, it behoveth me that he should be ordained by you, Oliver Cowdery, mine apostle ; this being an ordinance unto you, that you are an elder under his hand, he being the first unto you, that you might be an elder unto this church of Christ, bearing my name, and the first preacher of this church unto the church, and before the world, yea, before the Gentiles ; yea, and thus saith the Lord God, lo, lo! to the Jews also. Amen.

" We now proceeded to call out and ordain some others of the brethren to different offices of the priesthood, according as the spirit manifested unto us, and after a happy time spent in witnessing and feeling for ourselves the powers and the blessings of the Holy Ghost, through the grace of God bestowed upon us, we dismissed with the pleasing knowledge that we were now individually members of, and acknowledged of God, 'The Church of Jesus Christ,' organized in accordance with commandments and revelations given by him to ourselves in the last days, as well as according to the order of the church as recorded in the New Testament." j

The six members who composed the church at its organization were Hyrum Smith, Samuel H. Smith, David Whitmer, Peter Whitmer, jun., Oliver Cowdery, and the Prophet.

" Several persons," says Joseph, "who had attended the above meeting and become convinced of the truth, came forward shortly after, and were received into the church; among the rest my own father and mother were baptized to my great joy and consolation, and, about the same time, Martin Harris and O. P. Rockwell."

Organized with but six members, yet in its rise and progress the Latter-day Church has no parallel in all history. It soon became what it was styled by its disciples, — " the marvelous work and a wonder" foretold by Isaiah who, as the Saints believe, was shown in vision the unfolding of the very dispensation of which Joseph is the Prophet.

The disciples were now a church. The name given by revelation was, " The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," but outsiders from the first persisted in calling the disciples " Mormons."

Acting as the Aaron of the mission, Oliver Cowdery preached the first public discourse, Sunday, April nth, 1830, at the house of Mr. Whitmer, Fayette. On the same day a number of disciples were baptized.

During this month the Prophet paid a visit to Mr. Joseph Knight, of Colesville, Broome Co., N. Y., at whose residence he held several meetings. It was here that the first miracle of the Church occurred. The story is so characteristic and striking that, for due effect, it must be told by the Prophet himself. He says :

" Our meetings were well attended, and many began to pray fervently to Almighty God, that he would or-ive them wisdom to understand the truth. Amongst those who attended our meetings regularly was Newel Knight, son of Joseph Knight. He and I had many serious conversations on the important subject of man's eternal salvation ; we had got into a habit of praying much at our meetings, and Newel had said that he would try and take up his cross, and pray vocally during meeting; but when we again met together, he rather excused himself. I tried to prevail upon him, making use of the figure, supposing that he should get into a mudhole, would he not try to help himself out? and that we were willing now to help him out of the mudhole. He replied, that provided he had got into a mudhole through carelessness, he would

rather wait and get out himself than have others to help him, and so he would wait until he should get into the woods by himself and there he would pray. Accordingly he deferred praying until next morning, when he retired into the woods, where, according to his own account afterwards, he made several attempts to pray, but could scarcely do so, feeling that he had not done his duty, but that he should have prayed in the presence of others. He began to feel uneasy, and continued to feel worse, both in mind and body, until upon reaching his own house his appearance was such as to alarm his wife very much. He requested her to go and bring me to him. I went and found him suffering very much in his mind, and his body acted upon in a very strange manner. His visage and limbs distorted and twisted in every shape and appearance possible to imagine, and finally he was caught up off the floor of the apartment and tossed about most fearfully. His situation was soon made known to his neighbors and relatives, and in a short time as many as eight or nine grown persons had got together to witness the scene. After he had thus suffered for a time, I succeeded in getting hold of him by the hand, when almost immediately he spoke to me, and with very great earnestness requested of me that I should cast the devil out of him, saying that he knew he was in him, and that he also knew that I could cast him out. I replied, If you know that I can, it shall be done ; and then almost unconsciously I rebuked the devil, and commanded him in the name of Jesus Christ to depart from him, when immediately Newel

spoke out and said that he saw the devil leave him 9.nd vanish from his siodit.

" The scene was now entirely changed, for as soon as the devil had departed from our friend, his countenance became natural, his distortions of body ceased, and almost immediately the spirit of the Lord descended upon him, and the visions of eternity were opened to his view. He afterwards related his experience as follows : — ' I now began to feel a most pleasing sensation resting upon me, and immediately the visions of heaven were opened to my view. I felt myself attracted upward, and remained for some time enwrapt in contemplation, insomuch that I knew not what was going on in the room. By and by I felt some weight pressing upon my shoulder and the side of my head, which served to recall me to a sense of my situation, and I found that the spirit of the Lord had actually caught me up off the floor, and that my shoulder and head were pressing against the beams.'

"All this was witnessed by many, to their great astonishment and satisfaction when they saw the devil thus cast out, and the power of God and his holy spirit thus made manifest. So soon as consciousness returned, his bodily weakness was such that we were obliged to lay him upon his bed and wait upon him for some time. As may be expected, such a scene as this contributed much to make believers of those who witnessed it; and finally, the greater part of them became members of the Church."

There is another case, connected with the above, of the outpouring of the Holy Ghost upon the disciples

, that must also be related. The Prophet says: " During the last week in May, the above mentioned Newel Knight came to visit us at Fayette, and was baptized by David Whitmer.

" On the ist of June, 1830, we held our first conference as an organized church. Our numbers were about thirty, besides whom many assembled with us, who were either believers or anxious to learn.

" Having opened by singing and prayer, we partook together of the emblems of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ; we then proceeded to confirm several who had lately been baptized, after which we called out and ordained several to the various offices of the priesthood. Much exhortation and instruction was given, and the Holy Ghost was poured out upon us in a miraculous manner — many of our number prophesied, whilst others had the heavens opened to their view, and were so overcome that we had to lay them on beds or other convenient places. Among the rest was brother Newel Knight, who had to be placed on a bed, being unable to help himself. By his own account of the transaction, he could not understand why we should lay him on the bed, as he felt no sensibility of weakness. He felt his heart filled with love, with glory and pleasure unspeakable, and could discern all that was going on in the room, when, all of a sudden, a vision of futurity burst upon him. He saw there represented the great work, which through my instrumentality was yet to be accomplished. He saw heaven opened, and beheld the Lord Jesus Christ seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high, and had it made plain to his understanding

that the time would come when he would be admitted into his presence, to enjoy his society for ever and ever. When their bodily strength was restored to these brethren, they shouted, ' Hosannahs to God and the Lamb," and rehearsed the glorious things which they had seen and felt, whilst they were yet in the spirit.

" Such things as these were calculated to inspire our hearts with joy unspeakable, and fill us with awe and reverence for that Almighty being, by whose grace we had been called to be instrumental in bringing about for the children of men the enjoyment of such glorious blessings as were now poured out upon us. To find ourselves engaged in the very same order of things as observed by the holy apostles of old ; to realize the importance and solemnity of such proceedings, and to witness and feel with our own natural senses, the like glorious manifestations of the power of the priesthood ; the gifts and blessings of the Holy Ghost ; and the goodness and condescension of a merciful God, unto such as obey the everlasting gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, combined to create within us sensations of rapturous gratitude, and inspire us with fresh zeal and energy, in the cause of truth."

This led to the first arrest of the Prophet, for preaching, baptizing, and " casting out the devil " from the person of Newel Knight.

A meeting and a baptismal service having been appointed at Colesville on the following Sabbath, a mob, instigated by sectarian priests, gathered and destroyed the dam erected across the stream for the administration of the ordinance, and prevented the

service. " However," says Joseph, " early on Monday morning, we were on the alert, and, before our enemies were aware, we had repaired the dam and proceeded to baptize some thirteen persons, under the hands of Oliver Cowdery. Before the baptism was entirely finished, the mob began again to collect, and shortly after we had retired they amounted to about fifty men. They surrounded the house of Mr. Knight (to which we had retired), raging with anger and apparently wishful to commit violence upon us. Some asked us questions, others threatened us, so that we thought it wise to leave and go to the house of Newel Knight.

" We had appointed a meeting for this evening, for the purpose of attending to the confirmation of those who had been the same morning baptized ; the time appointed had arrived, and our friends had nearly all collected together, when, to my surprise, I was visited by a constable, and arrested by him on a warrant, on charge of being a disorderly person, of setting the country in an uproar by preaching the Book of Mormon, etc. The constable informed me soon after I had been arrested, that the plan of those who got out the warrant was to get me into the hands of the mob, who were now lying in ambush for me, but that he was determined to save me from them, as he had found me to be a different sort of person from what I had been represented to him. I soon found that he had told me the truth in this matter, for not far from Mr. Knight's house, the wagon in which we had set out was surrounded by the mob, who seemed only to await some signal from the constable ; but to their great disappointment

, he gave the horse the whip and drove me out of their reach. Whilst driving along pretty quickly, one of the wagon wheels came off, which left us once more very nearly surrounded by them, as they had come on in close pursuit. However, we managed to get the wheel on again, and again left them behind us. He drove on to the town of South Bainbridge, Chenango county, where he lodged me for the time being in an upper room of a tavern; and in order that all might be right with himself and with me also, he slept during the night with his feet against the door and a loaded musket by his side, whilst I occupied a bed which was in the room, he having declared that if we were interrupted unlawfully, that he would fight for me and defend me as far as in his power.

" On the day following a court was convened for the purpose of investigating those charges which had been preferred against me. * * * The trial commenced amidst a multitude of spectators, who in general evinced a belief that I was guilty of all that had been reported concerning me, and of course were very zealous that I should be punished according to my supposed crimes. Among the many witnesses called up against me, was Mr. Josiah Stoal, who was examined to the following effect:

" ' Did not the prisoner, Joseph Smith, have a horse of you? '

" ' Yes.'

" ' Did not he go to you and tell you that an angel had appeared unto him and authorized him to get the horse from you ? '

'" No; he told me no such story.'

" ' Well ; how had he the horse of you ? '

" ' He bought him of me as another man would do.'

" ' Have you had your pay? '

"'That is not your business.'

" The question being" again put, the witness replied, ' I hold his note for the price of the horse, which I consider as good as the pay ; for I am well acquainted with Joseph Smith, jun., and know him to be an honest man, and if he wishes, I am ready to let him have another horse on the same terms.'

"Mr. Jonathan Thompson was next called up and examined :

" ' Has not the prisoner, Joseph Smith, jun., had a yoke of oxen of you ? '

"'Yes.'

"' Did he not obtain them of you by telling you that he had a revelation to the effect that he was to have them ? '

"'No; he did not mention a word of the kind concerning the oxen ; he purchased them the same as another man would.'

" Circumstances which were alleged to have taken place in Broome Co. were brought forward, but these my lawyers would not here admit of against me, in consequence of which my persecutors managed to detain the court until they had succeeded in obtaining a warrant from Broome Co., and which warrant they served upon me at the very moment in which I had been acquitted by this court.

" The constable who served this second warrant upon me, had no sooner arrested me than he began to abuse and insult me, and so unfeeling was he with

me, that although I had been kept all the day in court, without anything to eat since the morning, yet he hurried me off to Broome Co., a distance of about fifteen miles, before he allowed me any kind of food whatever. He took me to a tavern, and gathered in a number of men, who used every means to abuse, ridicule, and insult me. They spat upon me, pointed their fingers at me, saying, ' Prophesy, prophesy ! ' And thus did they imitate those who crucified the Saviour of mankind, not knowing what they did. We were at this time not far distant from my own house. I wished to be allowed the privilege of spending the night with my wife at home, offering any wished for security for my appearance ; but this was denied me. I applied for something to eat. The constable ordered me some crusts of bread and water, which was the only fare I that nieht received. At length we retired to bed; the constable made me lie next the wall ; he then laid himself down by me and put his arm around me, and upon my moving in the least would clench me fast, fearing that I intended to escape from him; and in this (not very agreeable) manner did we pass the night. Next day I was brought before the magistrate's court, of Colesville, Broome Co., and put upon my trial. My former faithful friends and lawyers were again at my side ; my former persecutors were arrayed against me. Many witnesses were again called forward and examined, some of whom swore to the most palpable falsehoods, and like to the false witnesses which had appeared against me the day previous, they contradicted themselves so plainly that the court would not

admit their testimony. Others were called, who showed by their zeal that they were willing enough to prove something against me, but all they could do was to tell some things which somebody else had told them. In this frivolous and vexatious manner did they proceed for some time, when finally Newel Knight was called up and examined by lawyer Seymour, who had been especially sent for on this occasion. One lawyer Burch, also, was on the side of the persecution, but Mr. Seymour seemed to be a more zealous Presbyterian, and appeared very anxious and determined that the people should not be deluded by any one professing the power of godliness, and not ' denying the power thereof.'

"So soon as Mr. Knight had been sworn, Mr. Seymour proceeded to interrogate him as follows :

"'Did the prisoner, Joseph Smith, jun., cast the devil out of you ? '

'"No, sir.'

" ' Why, have not you had the devil cast out of you ?'

'"Yes, sir.'

"' And had not Joe Smith some hand in its being done ?'

" ' Yes, sir.'

" ' And did not he cast him out of you ? '

" ' No, sir. It was done by the power of God, and Joseph Smith was the instrument in the hands of God on the occasion. He commanded him out of me in the name of Jesus Christ'

"'And are you sure that it was the devil?'

'"Yes, sir.'

" ' Did you see him, after he was cast out of you ?'

"'Yes, sir; I saw him.'

"' Pray, what did he look like?' (Here one of my lawyers informed the witness that he need not answer the question). The witness replied, ' I believe I need not answer your last question, but I will do it provided I be allowed to ask you one question first, and you answer me, namely: Do you, Mr. Seymour, understand the things of the spirit?'

"' No,' answered Mr. Seymour, ' I do not pretend to such big things.'

" 'Well, then,' replied Knight, ' it would be of no use to tell you what the devil looked like, for it was a spiritual sight, and spiritually discerned ; and of course you would not understand it were I to tell you of it.' The lawyer dropped his head, whilst the loud laugh of the audience proclaimed his discomfiture.

" Mr. Seymour now addressed the court, and in a long and violent harangue endeavored to blacken my character and bring me in guilty of the charges which had been brought against me. Amoncr other things, he brought up the story of my having been a money digger ; and in this manner proceeded, in hopes to influence the court and the people against me.

" My counsel, who, by the way, were a couple of honest, well informed farmers, and not lawyers by profession, followed in my behalf. They held forth in true colors the nature of the prosecution, the malignity of intention, and the apparent disposition to persecute their client, rather than to afford him justice. ' They took up the different arguments which had been brought by the lawyers for the

prosecution, and having shown their utter futility and misapplication, then proceeded to scrutinize the evidence which had been adduced, and each in his turn thanked God that he had been engaged in so good a cause as that of defending a man whose character stood so well the test of such a strict investigation. In fact, these men, although not regular lawyers, were upon this occasion able to put to silence their opponents, and convince the court that I was innocent. They spoke like men inspired of God, whilst those who were arrayed against me trembled under the sound of their voices, and quailed before them.

" The majority of the assembled multitude had now begun to find that nothing could be sustained against me : even the constable who arrested me, and treated me so badly, now came and apologized to me, and asked my forgiveness of his behavior towards me ; and so far was he changed that he informed me that the mob were determined that if the court acquitted me they would have me, and railride me and tar and feather me ; and further, that he was willing to favor me and lead me out in safety by a private way.

"The court finding the charges against me not sustained, I was accordingly acquitted, to the great satisfaction of my friends and vexation of my enemies, who were still determined upon molesting me; but through the instrumentality of my new friend the constable, I was enabled to escape them and make my way home in safety.

"After a few days, however, I again returned to Colesville, in company with Oliver Cowdery, for

the purpose of confirming those whom we had thus been forced to abandon for a time. We had scarcely arrived at Mr. Knight's, when the mob was seen collecting together to oppose us, and we considered it wisdom to leave for home, which we did, without even waiting for any refreshments. Our enemies pursued us, and it was oftentimes as much as we could do to elude them. However, we managed to get home after having traveled all night, except a short time during which we were forced to rest ourselves under a large tree by the wayside, sleeping and watching alternately."

The above circumstantial narrative is of historic value, to show the commencement of the persecutions against the saints, and upon what ridiculous pretenses the Prophet was arrested. It was but the beginning of the end ; for, before his martyrdom, he was arrested nearly fifty times.

But the tribulations of the infant church were made tolerable by the revelations and manifestations of the power of God. It was at this time that the great vision of Moses was revealed to the Prophet, which shall be presented to the reader hereafter, with other revelations and visions illustrating the glorious views and themes of Joseph, and the epic sweep of his dispensation.

The history of those early days of the church is simply the story of its rise, of the persecutions, and the pentecosts among the disciples, which compensated them for taking up their cross; but the details are too voluminous, and must necessarily in great part be passed over.

It was also about this time that spiritual manifestations

from the opposing power began, establishing the experience among the saints that there were still, as in the past ages, the two spiritual powers in warfare. The method of communication was through the " Seer Stone," and many were beguiled thereby, among them some of the witnesses of the Book of Mormon. The narrative of Joseph continues:

" Mr. Whitmer having heard of the persecutions which had been gotten up against us at Harmony, Pa., had invited us to go and live with him ; and during the last week of August we arrived at Fayette, amidst the congratulations of our brethren and friends. To our great grief, however, we soon found that Satan had been lying in wait to deceive, and seeking whom he might devour. Brother Hyrum Page had in his possession a certain stone, by which he had obtained certain revelations, concerning the upbuilding of Zion, the order of the church, etc., all of which were entirely at variance with the order of God's house, as laid down in the New Testament, as well as our late revelations. As a conference meeting had been appointed for the first day of September, I thought it wisdom not to do much more than to converse with the brethren on the subject, until the conference should meet. Finding, however, that many (especially the Whitmer family and Oliver Cowdery) were believing much in the things set forth by this stone, we thought best to inquire of the Lord, concerning so important a matter, and before conference convened, we received the following:

i. Behold, I say unto thee, Oliver, that it shall be given unto thee, that thou shalt be heard by the church in all things whatsoever thou shalt teach them by the Comforter, concerning the revelations and commandment which I have given.

2. But, behold, verily, verily, I say unto thee, no one shall be appointed to receive commandments and revelations in this church, excepting my servant Joseph Smith, jun., for he receiveth them even as Moses; and thou shalt be obedient unto the things which I shall give unto him, even as Aaron, to declare faithfully the commandments and the revelations, with power and authority unto the church. And if thou art led at any time by the Comforter, to speak or teach, or at all times by the way of commandment unto the church, thou mayest do it. But thou shalt not write by way of commandment, but by wisdom ; and thou shalt not command him who is at thy head, and at the head of the church, for I have given him the keys of the mysteries, and the revelations which are sealed, until I shall appoint unto them another in his stead.

3. And now, behold, I say unto you, that you shall go unto the Lamanites and preach my gospel unto them ; and inasmuch as they receive thy teachings, thou shalt cause my church to be established among them, and thou shalt have revelations, but write them not by way of commandment. And now, behold, I say unto you, that it is not revealed, and no man knoweth where the city shall be built, but it shall be given hereafter. Behold, I say unto you, that it shall be on the borders by the Lamanites.

4. Thou shalt not leave this place until after the conference, and my servant Joseph shall be appointed to preside over the conference by the voice of it, and what he saith to thee thou shalt tell. And again, thou shalt take thy brother, Hiram Page,

between him and thee alone, and tell him that those things which he hath written from that stone, are not of me, and that Satan deceiveth him ; for, behold, these things have not been appointed unto him, neither shall any thing be appointed unto any of this church contrary to the church covenants, for all things must be done in order, and by common consent in the church, by the prayer of faith.

5. And thou shalt assist to settle all these things according to the covenants of the church before thou shalt take thy journey among the Lamanites. And it shall be given thee from the time thou shalt go, until the time thou shalt return, what thou shalt do. And thou must open thy mouth at all times, declaring my gospel with the sound of rejoicing. Amen.

" At length our conference assembled ; the subject of the stone was discussed, and after considerable investigation, brother Page, as well as the whole church, who were present, renounced the said stone and all things connected therewith, much to our mutual satisfaction and happiness.

" We now partook of the sacrament, confirmed and ordained many, and attended to a great variety of church business on that and the following day, during which time we had much of the power of God manifested amongst us; the Holy Ghost came upon us, and filled us with joy unspeakable; and peace and faith, and hope and charity abounded in our midst."

Thus was it settled that Joseph alone was the Moses of the Church ; even Oliver Cowdery dared not presume to be more than his Aaron.