On the way we met John E. Page, who
was going with his family to Quincy,
Illinois. His wagon had turned over,
and when we met him he was trying to
gather up a barrel of soft soap with his
hands. We helped him get up his wagon.
He drove down into the valley below,
left his wagon, and accompanied us on
our way.
On the night of the ,
we arrived at Far West, and spent the
night at the home of Morris Phelps, who
was not there, however, himself; he,
having been taken prisoner by the mob,
was still in prison.
On the morning of the , notwithstanding the threats of our
enemies that the revelation which was to
be fulfilled this day should not be, and
notwithstanding that ten thousand of the
Saints had been driven out of the State
by the edict of the governor, and though
the Prophet Joseph and his brother, Hy-
rum Smith, with other leading men were
in the hands of our enemies, in chains
and in prison, we moved on to the tem-
ple grounds in the city of Far West, and
held a council, and fulfilled the revela-
tion and commandment given unto us,
and we performed many other things at
this council.
We excommunicated from the Church
thirty-one persons, who had apostatized
and become its enemies.
The "Mission of the Twelve" was
sung, and we then repaired to the south-
east corner of the temple ground, and,
with the assistance of Elder Alpheus
Cutler, the master workman of the
building committee, laid the southeast
chief corner stone of the temple, accord-
ing to revelation.
There were present of the Twelve
Apostles: Brigham Young, Heber C.
Kimball, Orson Pratt, John E. Page,
and John Taylor, who proceeded to
ordain Wilford Woodruff and George
A. Smith to the Apostleship.
Bidding good-by to the small remnant
of the Saints who remained on the temple
ground to see us fulfill the revelation and
commandments of God, we turned our
backs on Far West and Missouri, and
returned to Illinois. We had accom-
plished the mission without a dog moving
his tongue at us, or any man saying,
"Why do you do so?"
We crossed the Mississippi river on the
steam ferry, entered Quincy on the , and all had the joy of reaching
our families once more in peace and
safety.
There was an incident connected with
our journey that is worthy of record.
While we were on our way to fulfill
the revelation, Joseph, the Prophet, and
his companions in chains had been liber-
ated, through the blessings of God, from
their enemies and prison, and they passed
us. We were not far distant from each
other, but neither party knew it. They
were making their way to their families
in Illinois, while we were traveling to
Far West into the midst of our enemies.
So they came home to their families and
friends before our return.
was a very interesting day
to me, as well as to others. In company
with five others of the quorum of the
Twelve, I rode four miles out of town to
Mr. Cleveland's, to visit Brother Joseph
Smith and his family.
Once more I had the happy privilege
of taking Brother Joseph by the hand.
Two years had rolled away since I had
seen his face. He greeted us with great
joy, as did Hyrum Smith and Lyman
Wight, all of whom had escaped from
their imprisonment together. They had
been confined in prison six months, and
had been under sentence of death three
times; yet their lives were in the hands
of God, and He had delivered them,
and they were now mingling with their
wives, children and friends, and out of
the reach of the mob. Joseph was
frank, open and familiar as usual, and
our rejoicing was great.
On the way we met John E. Page, who
was going with his family to Quincy,
Illinois. His wagon had turned over,
and when we met him he was trying to
gather up a barrel of soft soap with his
hands. We helped him get up his wagon.
He drove down into the valley below,
left his wagon, and accompanied us on
our way.
On the night of the ,
we arrived at Far West, and spent the
night at the home of Morris Phelps, who
was not there, however, himself; he,
having been taken prisoner by the mob,
was still in prison.
On the morning of the , notwithstanding the threats of our
enemies that the revelation which was to
be fulfilled this day should not be, and
notwithstanding that ten thousand of the
Saints had been driven out of the State
by the edict of the governor, and though
the Prophet Joseph and his brother, Hyrum Smith, with other leading men were
in the hands of our enemies, in chains
and in prison, we moved on to the temple grounds in the city of Far West, and
held a council, and fulfilled the revelation and commandment given unto us,
and we performed many other things at
this council.
We excommunicated from the Church
thirty-one persons, who had apostatized
and become its enemies.
The "Mission of the Twelve" was
sung, and we then repaired to the southeast corner of the temple ground, and,
with the assistance of Elder Alpheus
Cutler, the master workman of the
building committee, laid the southeast
chief corner stone of the temple, according to revelation.
There were present of the Twelve
Apostles: Brigham Young, Heber C.
Kimball, Orson Pratt, John E. Page,
and John Taylor, who proceeded to
ordain Wilford Woodruff and George
A. Smith to the Apostleship.
The Twelve then took their leave of,
and gave the parting hand to the following Saints, agreeable to revelation: A.
Butler, Elias Smith, Norman Shearer,
Bidding good-by to the small remnant
of the Saints who remained on the temple
ground to see us fulfill the revelation and
commandments of God, we turned our
backs on Far West and Missouri, and
returned to Illinois. We had accomplished the mission without a dog moving
his tongue at us, or any man saying,
"Why do you do so?"
We crossed the Mississippi river on the
steam ferry, entered Quincy on the , and all had the joy of reaching
our families once more in peace and
safety.
There was an incident connected with
our journey that is worthy of record.
While we were on our way to fulfill
the revelation, Joseph, the Prophet, and
his companions in chains had been liberated, through the blessings of God, from
their enemies and prison, and they passed
us. We were not far distant from each
other, but neither party knew it. They
were making their way to their families
in Illinois, while we were traveling to
Far West into the midst of our enemies.
So they came home to their families and
friends before our return.
was a very interesting day
to me, as well as to others. In company
with five others of the quorum of the
Twelve, I rode four miles out of town to
Mr. Cleveland's, to visit Brother Joseph
Smith and his family.
Once more I had the happy privilege
of taking Brother Joseph by the hand.
Two years had rolled away since I had
seen his face. He greeted us with great
joy, as did Hyrum Smith and Lyman
Wight, all of whom had escaped from
their imprisonment together. They had
been confined in prison six months, and
had been under sentence of death three
times; yet their lives were in the hands
of God, and He had delivered them,
and they were now mingling with their
wives, children and friends, and out of
the reach of the mob. Joseph was
frank, open and familiar as usual, and
our rejoicing was great.
No man can understand the joyful sen-
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