Life of Heber C. Kimball, an Apostle Part 15

"Brother Richards, I am not forgetful of your kindness to me and the brethren while with us; but I have a G.o.dly jealousy over you for your welfare and prosperity in the cause of Christ.

"HEBER C. KIMBALL."

Willard, it appears, had been praying to receive the mind and will of the Lord through his brethren, the Apostles, to direct him in his labors. His prayer being answered, he went forth with renewed energy, preaching and baptizing, laboring diligently and with success, until March, 1838, when he returned to Preston.

Heber continues: "The effect of the Gospel of Jesus Christ now began to be apparent, not only in the hearts of believers, but likewise in the hearts of those who rejected it. Our meeting in Preston being disturbed by the Methodist ministers, we got our hall licensed, and two gentlemen named Joseph Brown and Arthur Burrows, who were policemen, proffered their services to preserve the peace, and protect us from any further disturbance; which they continued to do as long as we stayed in that land. Many began to persecute us for preaching without a license from the authority of the nation. This idea of obtaining a license from the secular authority was somewhat novel to us; but after consulting our friends, amongst whom was Mr. John Richards' son, an attorney practising in Preston, we found it was according to the laws of England. Brothers Hyde and I therefore made application to the Quarter Sessions and obtained licenses, by the a.s.sistance of Mr. Richards; and for which service he refused compensation.

"The following is a copy of my license:

"'LANCASHIRE TO WIT. } This is to certify that at the General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, held by adjournment at Preston in and for said county, the eighteenth day of October, in the first year of the reign of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, Heber Chase Kimball came before the Justices present, and did then and there in open court, take the oaths appointed to be taken, instead of the oaths of allegiance and supremacy; and also the abjurgation oath; and subscribed his name thereto, pursuant to the several laws in that behalf made and provided.

"'E. GORST, "'Deputy Clerk of the Peace in and for said county.'

"Having now obeyed the requisitions of the law, we felt ourselves tolerably secure, knowing that our enemies could not lawfully harm us.

I wrote to Brother Richards that I had taken the oath to be true to Her Majesty and see that the laws were executed, also the abjurgation oath provided for foreigners who were not naturalized, and obtained a license as a preacher of the Gospel; and recommended him to do the same at Bedford: but they made him take the oath of allegiance before they granted him his license to preach. After we had obtained our licenses, to our surprise we found there were only a few licensed preachers in Preston; and when they abused me I told them if they did not cease their abuse I would see the laws put in force according to the oaths I had taken; and this generally silenced them.

"Although we had many persecutors who would have rejoiced at our destruction, and who felt determined to overthrow the work of the Lord, yet there were many who were friendly, who would have stood by us under all circ.u.mstances, and would not have been afraid to hazard their lives in our behalf. The church in Preston now numbered two or three hundred souls, with more being added continually.

"November 14th, I wrote to Willard Richards, exhorting him to teach the first principles of the Gospel only; telling him that if the people would not receive them they would not receive anything else; the more simple he could be, the better it would be for his hearers, Brother Goodson having left about 20 Books of Mormon in his possession, I told him to sell all that he could, either to saint or sinner; to get him some clothes, and to make himself warm and comfortable."

The wisdom of the Apostle's counsel to give first the "milk of the word" to those who were infants in faith, reserving the "meat" for such as became strong, is self-evident. No vessel can contain beyond its capacity. Food, in kind and quant.i.ty, must ever keep pace with the growth, and be suited to the condition of the one to whom it is administered.

It is human nature to oppose that which is new. The pride of man revolts at the idea of admitting himself in error, and his preconceived notions to be false, or even defective. The flesh, naturally inert, dislikes change that brings toil and study, even for the soul's salvation. Self-interest pleads in various ways, in favor of the old, and against the new. Thus h.o.a.ry tradition, antique error, sits warmed and comforted, a welcome guest, alike in palace and in hovel, while Truth, a pilgrim, hungry and cold, without stands shivering in the frosty air.

All truth may be new to the ignorant, though old as eternity to the G.o.ds, and whom the G.o.ds make wise. Much that is true, is not expedient. The Prophet Joseph could not tell all he knew, even to the Elders; nor the Elders all they knew to the people, Paul, caught up unto "the third heaven;" Joseph, unto "the seventh heaven," saw and heard things unspeakable, things "unlawful to be uttered." The mysteries of G.o.d's kingdom are not for the world, nor for novices in the faith until it is wisdom in the Lord, "lest they perish."

The effect of Elder Goodson's folly in reading to the Reverend Mr.

Matthews the vision of the triple glories, when his mind was just beginning to grasp the Gospel's first principles--sufficiently novel and far enough advanced to test his neophyte faith to the utmost--is only one of many like instances in Mormon missionary experience.

Prudence demands that truth be inculcated by gradual degrees. "Cry nothing but repentance to this generation," is a word of supreme wisdom to the Lord's servants, laboring in His vineyard among the tender vines and fragile flowers of humanity. Eagles build their nests in strong and high places. Truth is loftier and mightier than many eagles.

The Apostle's record continues:

"Having an appointment to preach in the village of Wrightington, while on the way I stopped at the houses of Brothers Francis Moon and Amos Fielding, when I was informed that the family of Matthias Moon had sent a request for me to visit them, that they might have the privilege of conversing with me on the subject of the Gospel.

Accordingly Brother Amos Fielding and I paid them a visit that evening. We were very kindly received by the family, and had considerable conversation on the subject of my mission to England, and the great work of the Lord in the last days. They listened with attention to my statements, but at the same time they appeared to be prejudiced against them. We remained in conversation until a late hour, and then returned home. On our way Brother Fielding observed that he thought our visit had been in vain, as the family seemed to have considerable prejudice. I answered, 'be not faithless but believing; we shall yet see great effects from this visit, for I know that some of the family have received the testimony, and will shortly manifest the same;' at which remark he seemed surprised.

"The next morning I continued my journey to Wrightington and Hunter's Hill. After spending two or three days in that vicinity preaching, I baptized seven of the family of Benson, and others, and organized a branch.

"I returned by the way of Brother Fielding's, with whom I again tarried for the night. The next morning I started for Preston, but when I got opposite the lane leading to Mr. Moon's, I was forcibly led by the Spirit of the Lord to call and see them again. I therefore directed my steps to the house. On my arrival I knocked at the door.

Mrs. Moon exclaimed, 'come in! come in! You are welcome here! I and the la.s.sies (meaning her daughters) have just been calling on the Lord, and praying that He would send you this way.' She then informed me of her state of mind since I was there, and said she at first rejected my testimony, and endeavored to think lightly on the things I had advanced, but on trying to pray, the heavens seemed to be like bra.s.s over her head, and it was like iron under her feet. She did not know what was the matter, saying, 'certainly the man has not bewitched me has he?' and upon inquiring she found it was the same with the la.s.sies. They then began to reflect on the things I told them, and thinking it possible that I had told them the truth, they resolved to lay the case before the Lord, and beseech Him to give them a testimony concerning the things I had testified of. She then observed that as soon as they did so light broke in upon their minds; they were convinced that I was a messenger of salvation; that it was the work of the Lord, and they had resolved to obey the Gospel. That evening I baptized Mr. Moon and his wife, and four of their daughters.

"The same night I went to Leyland, and stayed with Francis Moon, and the next morning I went to Preston where I stayed about three weeks with Brother Hyde.

"During this time our enemies were not idle; they heaped abuse upon us with an unsparing hand and issued torrents of lies concerning us, which I am thankful to say did not injure us. Among those most active in publishing falsehoods against us and the truth were many of the clergy, who were afraid to meet us face to face in honorable debate, although particularly requested so to do. We only asked three days'

notice of the time of discussion, so as to notify the people. But they sought every opportunity to try to destroy our characters, and propagate their lies concerning us, thus showing that they loved darkness rather than light. We frequently called upon the ministers of various denominations, who had taken a stand against us, to come forward and investigate our religion before the world, in an honorable manner, and bring forth their strong reasons to disprove the things we taught, and convince the people by sound argument and the word of G.o.d, if they could, that we did not preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This they declined. They kept at a respectful distance, and only came out when they knew we were absent, with misrepresentations and abuse. It is true we suffered some from the statements which they thought proper to make, when we could not get an opportunity to contradict them; but generally their reports were of such a character as carried their own refutation with them.

"I visited Mr. Moon again, and baptized the remainder of his family, consisting of thirteen souls, the youngest of whom was over twenty years of age. They received the Gospel as little children, and rejoiced exceedingly in its blessings. The sons were very good musicians, and the daughters excellent singers. When they united their instruments and voices in the songs of Zion, the effect was truly transporting.

"Before I left England there were about thirty of that family and connections baptized, five of whom, Hugh, John, Francis, William and Thomas Moon, were ordained to be fellow laborers with us in the vineyard, and I left them rejoicing in the truths they had embraced.

"In all my labors I was greatly a.s.sisted by the Spirit of the Lord, and my soul was comforted exceedingly; for the sick were healed, the lame walked, and in several cases where persons had lain upon their beds in a consumptive state for many years and were not able to sit up, they would be taken in a carriage, perhaps a mile, to the water, where I baptized, laid my hands upon them and confirmed them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost, and rebuked their disease in the name of Jesus Christ, and said unto them 'be thou made whole,' and they would leap and shout glory to G.o.d, and begin to mend from that hour. This was a common occurrence on our first mission to England.

Many scores of persons were healed by our sending a handkerchief to them.

"I was instrumental in building up churches in the following places, viz.; Eccleston, Wrightington, Askin, Dauber's Lane, Exton, Chorley, Whittle, Hunter's Hill, and Leyland Moss, after laboring about four weeks, and baptizing in the neighborhood of two hundred persons, which caused me to rejoice that I had not labored in vain. More loving and affectionate Saints I never saw before; they were patterns of humility. All the above villages are within a short distance of each other, and near to Preston.

"After my return from those places I took a tour to the northeast of Preston, in company with Brother Joseph Fielding, where we labored a short time with considerable success, and raised up churches in Ribchester, Thornley, Stoney Gate Lane, and at c.l.i.thero, a market town containing several thousand inhabitants. At c.l.i.thero I baptized a preacher named Thomas Smith and six members of the Methodist Church, immediately after I had preached the first time.

"One night while at the village of Ribchester I dreamed that in company with another person I was walking, and we saw a very extensive field of wheat; more so than the eye could reach; such a sight I had never witnessed. The wheat appeared perfectly ripe and ready for harvest. I was very much rejoiced at the glorious sight which presented itself; but judge of my surprise, when on taking some of the ears and rubbing them in my hands, I found nothing but s.m.u.t; not any sound grain could I find. I marveled exceedingly and felt very sorrowful, and exclaimed 'what will the people do for grain! Here is a great appearance of plenty, but there is no sound wheat.'

"While contemplating the scenery, I looked in another direction, and saw a small field in the form of the letter L, which had the appearance of something growing in it. I immediately directed my steps to it, and found that it had been sown with wheat, some of which had grown up six inches high, other parts of the field not quite so high, and some had just sprouted. This gave me some encouragement to expect that at the harvest there would be some good grain. While thus engaged, a large bull, looking very fierce and angry, leaped over the fence, ran through the field, and stamped down a large quant.i.ty of that which had just sprouted, and after doing considerable injury he leaped over the fence and ran away. I felt very much grieved that so much wheat should be destroyed when there was such a prospect of scarcity.

"When I awoke next morning the interpretation was given me. The large field with the great appearance of grain, so beautiful to look upon, represented the nation in which I then resided; which had a very pleasing appearance and a good show of religion; which made great pretensions to piety and goodness, and consequently of the gifts of the Spirit. The small field I saw, clearly represented the region of country where I was laboring, and where the word of truth had taken root, which was in the shape of the letter L, and it was growing in the hearts of those who had the gospel, some places having grown a little more than others. The village I was in was that part of the field where the bull did so much injury; for during my short visit there, most of the inhabitants were believing, but as soon as I departed, a clergyman belonging to the Church of England came out and violently attacked the truth, made a considerable noise, crying, "False Prophet! Delusion!" and after trampling on truth and doing all the mischief he could before I returned, he took shelter in his pulpit.

"However he did not destroy all the seed, for after my return I was instrumental in building up a branch in Ribchester. A mob of Catholics had combined, that when I went to baptize any persons they would pelt me with stones. I made arrangements with each of the candidates to go singly to the place of baptism, and about the time the last one got there I started quickly, got to the place and baptized them all. As I was baptizing the last one the mob came up and were disappointed in their vengeance, for I came out of the water, and they did not know how many I had baptized."

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE VOICE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD--HEBER CONVERTS WHOLE VILLAGES--THE SPIRIT OF THE MASTER UPON HIS SERVANT--THE CHRISTMAS CONFERENCE IN PRESTON.

"My sheep know my voice, and a stranger they will not follow." So said the Shepherd of Israel.

The test is true in all time. How many in these latter days bear witness, that, until Mormonism came, they had no religion, and desired none, but were instantly converted on first hearing it proclaimed.

Again, how many wandered in quest of it, from church to church, from creed to creed, scarce knowing what they sought, yet conscious of "an aching void" which nothing else could fill, and only happy when at last it was supplied.

"My sheep know my voice, and a stranger they will not follow."

A remarkable instance of this truth now occurred in Heber's ministry.

Says he:

"Having mentioned my intention of going to Downham and Chatburn, to several of the brethren, they endeavoured to dissuade me from going, informing me there could be no prospect of success whatever, as several ministers of different denominations had endeavored in vain to raise churches in these places, and had frequently preached to them, but to no effect, as they had resisted all the efforts and withstood the attempts of all sects and parties for the last thirty years, who, seeing all their attempts fail, had given them up to hardness of heart. I was also informed they were very wicked places. However this did not discourage me, believing that the Gospel of Jesus Christ could reach the heart, when the gospels of men proved abortive; I consequently told those brethren that these were the places I wanted to go to, for that it was my business not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.

"The next day we received a very pressing invitation to preach in Chatburn, but having given out an appointment to preach in c.l.i.thero that evening, I informed them that I would not be able to comply with their request that night; this did not satisfy them, they continued to solicit me with the greatest importunity, until I was obliged to consent to remain with them, and requested Elder Fielding to attend to the appointment at c.l.i.thero; there was a feeling of reluctance on his part to go, as he feared the rabble might break up his meeting; but seeing the importunity of the people that I should stay with them in Chatburn, he consented to go to c.l.i.thero alone. As he feared it might be, so it was; his meeting was broken up.

"In Chatburn I was cordially received by the inhabitants, who turned out in great numbers to hear me preach. They procured a large t.i.thing barn, placing a barrel in the center, upon which I stood. I preached to them the first principles of the Gospel, spoke in simplicity upon the principles revealed by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the conditions of pardon for a fallen world and the blessings and privileges of those who embraced the truth; I likewise said a little on the subject of the resurrection. My testimony was accompanied by the Spirit of the Lord, and was received with joy, and these people who had been represented as being hard and obdurate, were melted into tenderness and love. I told them that, being a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, I stood ready at all times to administer the ordinances of the Gospel, and explained what was necessary to prepare them for baptism; that when they felt to repent of and forsake their sins, they were ready to be baptized for the remission of sins, like the jailor and his household, and Cornelius and his house. When I concluded I felt someone pulling at my coat, exclaiming, 'Maister, Maister,' I turned round and asked what was wanted. Mrs. Elizabeth Partington said, 'Please sir, will you baptize me?' 'And me?' And me?' exclaimed more than a dozen voices. Accordingly I went down into the water and baptized twenty-five. I was engaged in this duty, and confirming them and conversing with the people until after midnight."

The next morning I returned to Downham, and baptized between twenty-five and thirty in the course of the day.

"The next evening I returned to Chatburn. The congregation was so numerous that I had to preach in the open air, and took my stand on a stone wall, and afterwards baptized several. These villages seemed to be affected from one end to the other; parents called their children together, spoke to them on the subjects which I had preached about, and warned them against swearing and all other evil practices, and instructed them in their duty.

"We were absent from Preston five days, during which time Brother Fielding and I baptized and confirmed about 110 persons; organized branches in Downham, Chatburn, Waddington and c.l.i.thero; and ordained several to the lesser Priesthood, to preside. This was the first time the people in those villages ever heard our voices, or saw an American.

"I cannot refrain from relating an occurrence which took place while Brother Fielding and myself were pa.s.sing through the village of Chatburn on our way to Downham: having been observed approaching the village, the news ran from house to house, and immediately the noise of their looms was hushed, and the people flocked to their doors to welcome us and see us pa.s.s. More than forty young people of the place ran to meet us; some took hold of our mantles and then of each others'

hands; several having hold of hands went before us singing the songs of Zion, while their parents gazed upon the scene with delight, and poured their blessings upon our heads, and praised the G.o.d of heaven for sending us to unfold the principles of truth and the plan of salvation to them. The children continued with us to Downham, a mile distant. Such a scene, and such grat.i.tude, I never witnessed before.

'Surely,' my heart exclaimed, 'out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise.' What could have been more pleasing and delightful than such a manifestation of grat.i.tude to Almighty G.o.d; and from those whose hearts were deemed too hard to be penetrated by the Gospel, and who had been considered the most wicked and hardened people in that region of country."