MORMOXS
625
MORMONS
success and perpetuity. As heads of the Church he ap- ' poLated a presidency' of three (and this remains the practice of the Mormons), assigning to himself the first place, and associating -with himself the Eigdon of whom we have had occasion to speak before, and one Fred- erick G. Williams, a "revelation" from the Lord having declared that the sins of Kigdon and Williams were for- given, •• and that they were henceforth to be accounted as equals with Joseph Smith, jun„ in holding the keys of his last kingdom." His own superiority the Prophet had declared to his followers as early as 1830 by spe- cial -revelation," which, after appointing him "seer, translator, prophet, apostle of .Jesus Christ, and elder of the Church," also demands that •• the Church shall give heed to all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you : for his word shall ye receive as if from my own mouth, in aU patience and faith." On Feb. 4. 18.35, .Smith selected his high council of tn-elve, and delegated these his apostles "to go unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, to preach the Gospel of the New Covenant,"' They departed into the Eastern States, and later into Europe : the first in 1837 to England, where the first Conference of converts was held at Pres- ton, Lancashire, on Dec. 25th of that year. Everywhere the Saints now gained adherents. In ^March. 1836. when the Temple at Kirtland was dedicated, over IC^tO Mor- mons were gathered in that little town to witness the •• sacred ceremony." and " to receive great blessings."'
The year 1837 was a most auspicious one for the Saints, though for a time it threatened their very life as an ec- clesiastical iKxly. In Ohio they lost the confidence and support of their •• GentUe'' associates by the mismanage- ment of mercantile afi^rs, so that the Prophet laid him- self open to the suspicion of deceit, double-dealing, and fraud. They also sustained several important aposta- sies from their ranks, one seceder being one of Joseph's councillors, and three othere apostles in the " kingdom." But while these trials awaited them at their own "Zion." the Xew Covenant was rapidly spreading in England, under the preaching of the apostles Orson Hyde and Heber C. KimbalL and the Saints received large acces- sions to their numbers, especially from the masses in the great manufacturing and commercial towns — Man- chester. Liverpool, Leeds. Birmingham. Glasgow: and above all from the mining districts of South Wales. where Mormonism, in some places, almost competed for popularity- with 3Iethodism itself. Since then they have extended their strange evangelization to the East In- dies, Australia, the islands of the Pacific. Egypt. Pales- tine. Turkey, and almost every country on the continent of Europe. In 1838 Kirtland was finally altogether abandoned, for. luckily for the Prophet, just at the mo- ment of his indictment for swindling, etc.. a new •• rev- elation"" ordered his immediate departure for Missouri, which he promptly obeyed, with all the more alacrity as internal disorders had painfully manifested them- selves also in Missouri, resulting in the expulsion of several influential membei?, among them David Whit- mer. the second witness to the BooJ: of Mormon, and Oliver Cowdery. the first convert by baptism. Smith's presence soon healed all internal disorders, but the con- flict between the Saints and the other Missourians be- came daily fiercer. The organized religionists, though gtulty of fanatical extravagance in their faith, were yet so perfectly united in all their material undertakings as to make their prosperity almost a necessity, and this success annoyed the other settlers to such a degree that a constant warfare was maintained. The rapid increase of the Saints made them, moreover, a subject of suspi- cion, especially as they had declared it to be their in- tention to take Missouri as their earthly portion for an "everlasting possession." The Prophet, it was said, had declared that he would yet trample on the necks of his enemies, and these had therefore every reason to fear his growing strength. Besides, it was known that a band of men had secretly oi^nized to defend the first presidencv bv anv means, fair or foul : and it is YL— E E