Life of Heber C. Kimball, an Apostle Part 11

Only souls where sentiment and feeling dwell, who have been upon the mighty waters, floating like an insect on a leaf amid the immensity of the liquid waste, can realize that awful loneliness, that sense of helplessness and utter dependency upon a power superior to man's.

Atheism, thy home is not the boundless deep! Ocean, thou art religious, thou art worshipful, and throwest heavenward the thoughts of man as though they were thy spray!

Especially was it so with Heber and his companions, G.o.d-fearing men, upon whom rested the burden of a mission fraught with salvation to thousands. The solemnities of eternity encompa.s.sed them. They felt as little children in the presence of the Infinite. And children they were in their humility. Not in their own strength went they forth, but in the strength of Him who made the seas, and who holdeth their waters in the hollow of His hand.

"Angels shall accompany thee and bear thee up!"

Were they not even now upon the vessel, in mid-ocean, guiding it unerringly toward its destiny? Aye, lest at any time that fated bark should "dash its foot against a stone."

"While crossing the sea," says Heber, "I dreamed that the Prophet Joseph came to me while I was standing upon the forecastle of the ship, and said, 'Brother Heber, here is a rod (putting it into my hands), with which you are to guide the ship. While you hold this rod you shall prosper, and there shall be no obstacles thrown before you but what you shall have power to overcome, and the hand of G.o.d shall be with you.' After this I discovered every kind of obstruction was placed before the ship to stop its progress; but the bow being sharp, the obstacles were compelled to move out on either side; and when the ship would come to a mountain, it would plow its course straight through, as though it was in water. This rod which Joseph gave me was about three and a half feet in length. His appearance was just as natural as I ever beheld him in the flesh. He blessed me and disappeared."

It is a singular fact that during fifty years, the period covered by the history of Mormon emigration from the nations abroad, not a ship-load of Latter-day Saints, not a vessel bearing the Elders of Israel to or from foreign sh.o.r.es, has ever been lost at sea. Even rough captains and sailors have learned to regard this with feelings akin to reverential awe, and to accept as a good omen, an a.s.surance of a safe and prosperous voyage, the presence of Mormon Elders or emigrants among their ship's pa.s.sengers.

In such a light, Heber's dream of Joseph and the rod wherewith he was to "guide the ship," takes on added interest and significance.

Remarkable, too, that this same ship, the _Garrick_, now on its first voyage, after twice ploughing the Atlantic with Apostles Kimball and Hyde on board--for on this vessel they returned to America--was doomed, on almost its very next voyage, to go down at sea, in the year 1841.

Heber continues his narrative:

"During the voyage we were hailed by a large vessel throwing up a signal of distress. Our captain hauled to, and with his speaking trumpet enquired what was wanted. The answer was, 'we are bound for Quebec, but are lost, having lost our reckoning.' Our captain took an observation, and through his speaking trumpet gave them the lat.i.tude and longitude, and the course for them to steer, showing them that they were about a thousand miles from the American sh.o.r.e. They replied that they thought they were close to the sh.o.r.e and were afraid of running on the reefs for several days past. This reminded me that when a person has lost his course, or is out of the way, it is necessary to apply to the Lord, through a Prophet, Seer and Revelator, to put him right.

"Our pa.s.sage was very agreeable, the winds for the most part being favorable. On the banks of Newfoundland we saw several large fish, called by some, whales, and by others, finners; also many porpoises and different species of fish. We were kindly treated by the officers and crew; their conduct was indeed praiseworthy. Had we been their own relatives, they could not have behaved more kindly, or treated us better. Thus the Lord answered our prayers, for which I desire to praise His holy name.

"The Lord also gave us favor in the eyes of the pa.s.sengers, who treated us with the greatest respect. During the voyage, a child belonging to one of the pa.s.sengers was very sick, and given up by the doctor to die; consequently its parents had given up all hopes of its recovery, and expected to have to commit their little one to the ocean. Feeling a great anxiety for the child, I went to its parents and reasoned with them, and laid before them the principle of faith, and told them that the Lord was able to restore their child, notwithstanding there was no earthly prospect of its recovery. To which they listened with great interest. Shortly after, having an opportunity to secretly lay hands upon the child, I did so, and in the name of Jesus Christ rebuked the disease which preyed upon its system.

The spirit of the Lord attended the administration, and from that time the child began to recover, and in two or three days after it was running about, perfectly well. Afterwards I informed the parents that I had laid hands on their child, and they acknowledged that it was healed by the power of the Almighty.

"Our health, while on the water, was good, with the exception of Brothers Richards and Fielding, who were sick a day or two.

"Sunday, July 16th, I went to the captain and asked the privilege for one of us to preach on board. He very obligingly agreed, and appointed 1 o'clock, p. m., when it would be most suitable for himself and the crew to attend. I requested Elder Hyde to speak, and notified the captain, crew and pa.s.sengers of the intended meeting for preaching on the aft quarter deck. At the time appointed there was a congregation of between two and three hundred persons a.s.sembled, who listened, with great attention and deep interest, to the discourse. I think I never heard Brother Hyde speak with such power and eloquence. He spoke on the subject of the resurrection, which was necessarily condensed, the time being limited on account of the duties of the crew. The congregation was composed of persons of different faiths, and from different nations, English, Irish, Scotch, French Germans, etc.,--both Jews and Christians. A great feeling was produced upon the minds of the a.s.sembly, who had never heard the subject treated in like manner before; and from the conversation we had afterwards with several of them, I believe that good was done. The congregation appointed a committee who came to us and returned thanks for the favor conferred on them.

"On the 18th, the captain sent a man up to the masthead to look for land. He had not been up long before he cried out, "land," which was the Irish sh.o.r.e. It caused joy and grat.i.tude to arise in my bosom to my heavenly Father for the favorable pa.s.sage so far, and the prospect of soon reaching our destination. We sailed up the Irish Channel, having Ireland on our left and Wales on our right. The scenery was very beautiful and imposing.

"At daybreak, on July 20th, we arrived in the river Mersey, opposite Liverpool, being eighteen days and eighteen hours from our departure from the anchorage at New York. The packet ship _South America_, which left New York at the same time we did, came in a few lengths behind, thus losing a wager of ten thousand dollars which had been made the day of starting. She had been seen daily during the voyage, but never pa.s.sed us. The sight was very interesting to see these two vessels enter port with every inch of canvas spread.

"When we first sighted Liverpool I went to the side of the vessel and poured out my soul in praise and thanksgiving to G.o.d for the prosperous voyage, and for all the mercies which He had vouchsafed to me, and while thus engaged, and contemplating the scene presented to my view, the spirit of the Lord rested down upon me in a powerful manner, and my soul was filled with love and grat.i.tude. I felt humble, while I covenanted to dedicate myself to G.o.d, and to love and serve Him with all my heart.

"Immediately after we anch.o.r.ed, a small boat came along-side, when several of the pa.s.sengers, with Brothers Hyde, Richards, Goodson and myself got in and went to sh.o.r.e. When we were within six or seven feet of the pier, I leaped on sh.o.r.e, followed by Elders Hyde and Richards, and for the first time in my life I stood on British ground, among strangers, whose manners and customs were different from my own. My feelings at that time were peculiar, particularly when I realized the importance and extent of my mission; the work to which I had been appointed and in which I was shortly to be engaged. However, I put my trust in G.o.d, believing that He would a.s.sist me in publishing the truth, give me utterance, and be a present help in time of need.

"Elders Hyde, Richards, and myself, being without purse or scrip, wandered in the streets of Liverpool, where wealth and luxury abound, side by side with penury and want. I there met the rich attired in the most costly dresses, and the next minute was saluted with the cries of the poor with scarce covering sufficient to screen them from the weather. Such a wide distinction I never saw before. Looking for a place to lodge in, we found a room belonging to a widow in Union Street, which we engaged for a few days."

CHAPTER XVI.

STRANGERS IN A STRANGE LAND--THE ELDERS LED BY THE SPIRIT TO PRESTON--"TRUTH WILL PREVAIL"--THE REVEREND JAMES FIELDING--WONDERFUL FULFILLMENT OF HEBER'S PROPHECIES--A PEOPLE PREPARED FOR THE GOSPEL--THE ELDERS PREACH IN PRESTON.

After landing on this foreign sh.o.r.e, Heber's mind for a season was overshadowed with gloom. Among strangers and without money--for he had not a penny in his pocket--and reflecting on the wretched state of affairs in far away Kirtland, where the Prophet of G.o.d, whom he loved as his own soul, was surrounded by enemies, and his own family in lowly circ.u.mstances in the midst of persecution, his spirits were much depressed. It was then that he had the following night vision. Says he:

"I was in a great water, swimming, and had swam away, trying to make land, although I saw no land, until I had become weary and tired, when I began to sink; then an angel came to me and placed his hand under my chin, for some time keeping me from sinking, until I had rested and gained strength; he blessed me and said, 'Brother Heber, you shall now have strength to swim ash.o.r.e.' I again began to swim, and it appeared as though every time I stretched forth my arms and feet, I would move rods at each stroke, and continued doing so until I reached land."

This dream, coming as such dreams generally do, in a season of deep depression, was as a spring of pure water in the desert to the parched lips of the weary traveler. As a promise of success, it was amply verified in the subsequent experience of the father and founder of the British mission. "Rods at a stroke" is indeed a strikingly appropriate figure, ill.u.s.trating the labors in the vineyard of this faithful and mighty servant of the Lord.

"The time we were in Liverpool," he continues, "was spent in council, and in calling on the Lord for direction. While thus engaged, the Spirit of the Lord was with us and we felt greatly strengthened. Our trust was in G.o.d, who could make us as useful in bringing down the kingdom of Satan, as He did the ram's horns in bringing down the walls of Jericho; and in gathering out a number of precious souls, who were buried amid the rubbish of tradition, and who had no one to show them the way of truth."

"Go to Preston," said the Spirit of the Lord, and to Preston they went accordingly. The place indicated was a large manufacturing town in Lancashire, thirty-one miles from Liverpool. They arrived there about four o'clock in the afternoon of July 22nd.

It was election day in Preston. Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, who had ascended the throne just three days before the landing of the Elders on her dominions, had ordered a general election for members of Parliament. In the very midst of this busy and interesting scene, Heber and his companions alighted from the coach. He thus describes the spectacle:

"I never witnessed anything like it in my life. Bands of music playing. Flags flying in all directions. Thousands of men, women and children parading the streets, decked with ribbons characteristic of the politics of the several candidates. Anyone accustomed to the peaceable and quiet manner in which the elections in America are conducted, can scarcely have any idea of an election as carried on in England. One of the flags was unrolled before us, nearly over our heads, the moment the coach reached its destination, having on it the following motto: 'TRUTH WILL PREVAIL,' in large gilt letters. It being so very seasonable, and the sentiment being so very appropriate to us in our situation, we cried aloud, 'Amen! Thanks be to G.o.d, TRUTH WILL PREVAIL!'"

The Elders took a room in Wilfred Street, in a house belonging to a widow. Joseph Fielding, in the meantime, went in quest of his brother, the Reverend James Fielding, who was pastor of a church in Preston.

Returning shortly, he was the bearer of a polite message from the reverend gentleman, inviting the Elders to visit him that evening.

Accordingly, Apostles Kimball and Hyde and Elder Goodson went, and were kindly received by Mr. Fielding and his brother-in-law, Mr.

Watson, a minister from Bedford. They conversed upon the subject of the Gospel until a late hour. Next morning the Elders received from Mrs. Watson a slight testimonial of her appreciation of their visit, in the shape of a half crown piece.

The Reverend James Fielding, who was destined to be an instrument of Providence for the establishment of Mormonism in Preston--its first foreign foothold--was a brother to Miss Mary Fielding, the same who, with others, accompanied Heber from Kirtland to Fairport, when he started on his mission to England. She subsequently became the wife of Hyrum Smith, the martyr, and mother of Joseph F. Smith, the Apostle.

At this juncture, it will be well to refer to an extraordinary prophecy of Heber C. Kimball's, uttered in the spring of 1836, which connects itself in an interesting manner with the mission he was now about to fulfill. Apostle Parley P. Pratt, over whom the prediction was made, narrates the incident as follows:

"It was now April; I had retired to rest one evening at an early hour, and was pondering my future course, when there came a knock at the door. I arose and opened it, when Elder Heber C. Kimball and others entered my house, and being filled with the spirit of prophecy, they blessed me and my wife, and he prophesied as follows:

"'Brother Parley, thy wife shall be healed from this hour, and shall bear a son, and his name shall be Parley; and he shall be a chosen instrument in the hands of the Lord to inherit the Priesthood and to walk in the steps of his father. He shall do a great work in the earth in ministering the word and teaching the children of men. Arise, therefore, and go forth in the ministry, nothing doubting. Take no thought for your debts, nor the necessaries of life, for the Lord will supply you with abundant means for all things.

"'Thou shalt go to Upper Canada, even to the city of Toronto, the capital, and there thou shalt find a people prepared for the fullness of the gospel, and they shall receive thee, and thou shalt organize the Church among them, and it shall spread thence into the regions round about, and many shall be brought to the knowledge of the truth and shall be filled with joy; and from the things growing out of this mission shall the fullness of the Gospel spread into England, and cause a great work to be done in that land.'

"This prophecy was the more marvelous because, being married near ten years, we had never had any children; and for near six years my wife had been consumptive, and had been considered incurable. However, we called to mind the faith of Abraham of old, and judging him faithful who had promised, we took courage."

Both these prophecies, the one relating to the birth of his son, and the other to his Canadian mission, were literally and marvelously fulfilled. Parley P. Pratt, jun., was born March 25th, 1837, eleven months after the event was thus foretold. Among the "people prepared for the fullness of the Gospel" whom Parley the Apostle found "in the city of Toronto," in strict accordance with Heber's inspired words, was John Taylor, afterwards an Apostle and the President of the Church, and a powerful champion of Mormonism in the British Isles; also Joseph Fielding, Heber's fellow missionary, and his sisters, Mary and Mercy, who had lately emigrated from England. The Fieldings of Canada wrote to their reverend brother in Preston an account of the rise and progress of the latter-day work, and thus prepared him for the advent of the Elders upon British sh.o.r.es. He, in turn, told his congregation and exhorted them to pray to the Lord to send His servants unto them. Obedient to his counsel, the worthiest and most pious members of his flock commenced praying for the coming of the Elders from America. Their faith shook the heavens, and in dreams and visions many were shown the very men whom the Lord was about to send into their midst. Heber C. Kimball, especially, on his arrival in Preston was recognized by persons who had never until then beheld him in the flesh.

Thus, "from things growing out of this mission" to Canada, had the fullness of the Gospel "spread into England," according to Heber's prediction. Thus, like Parley in the city of Toronto, had Heber found in Preston, souls who were prepared to receive his message. The angels of G.o.d had been before him, and left their foot-prints upon the people's hearts.

The day after their arrival in Preston, being the Sabbath, the brethren, on the invitation of Mr. Fielding, repaired to Vauxhall Chapel, where he held forth from his own pulpit. "We sat before him,"

says Heber, "praying to the Lord to open up the way for us to preach."

At the close of the service, the reverend gentleman, of his own accord--for no one had requested it--gave notice that an Elder of the Latter-day Saints would preach in his chapel at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. The news spread rapidly, and a large congregation a.s.sembled at the appointed hour, to hear the Elders from America.

The first speaker was Heber C. Kimball. Says he: "I declared that an angel had visited the earth, and committed the everlasting Gospel to man; called their attention to the first principles of the Gospel; and gave them a brief history of the nature of the work which the Lord had commenced on the earth; after which Elder Hyde bore testimony to the same, which was received by many with whom I afterwards conversed; they cried 'glory to G.o.d,' and rejoiced that the Lord had sent His servants unto them. Thus was the key turned and the Gospel dispensation opened on the first Sabbath after landing in England."

Another appointment was given out for the brethren in the evening, when Elder Goodson preached, and Joseph Fielding bore testimony, and still another for the Wednesday night following, when Apostle Hyde held forth and Elder Richards added his testimony. The chapel was filled to overflowing, and many were "p.r.i.c.ked in their hearts," being convinced of the truth, "and began to praise G.o.d and rejoice exceedingly."

Thus was the first opening made for the preaching of the Gospel in the British Isles and on the continent of Europe. Thus it was--to use the Reverend Fielding's famous phrase--that "Kimball bored the holes, Goodson drove the nails, and Hyde clinched them."

CHAPTER XVII.

SATAN ALARMED--THE POWERS OF EVIL CONSPIRE AGAINST THE ELDERS--CHAPELS AND CHURCHES CLOSED AGAINST THEM--THE REVEREND MR. FIELDING IN HIS REAL COLORS--THE WORK CONTINUES TO SPREAD--AN ARMY OF DEMONS ATTACK THE ELDERS--THE DAWN AND VICTORY.