Part 9 (2/2)
CHAPTER XIII.
THE WORs.h.i.+P OF MAMMON--THE TEMPORAL ABOVE THE SPIRITUAL--THE KIRTLAND BANK--FINANCIAL DISASTERS--APOSTASY--HEBER SORROWS OVER THE DEGENERACY OF THE TIMES.
”Ill fares the land; to hastening ills a prey, Where wealth acc.u.mulates and men decay.”
During the absence of Apostle Kimball in the east, a grievous change had come over the Church in Kirtland. The greed of gain, the spirit of speculation was abroad in the land. Mammon had reared his altars on consecrated ground; the money-changer was within the temple. The love of the things of earth had usurped, in many hearts, the love of the things of heaven, and comparatively few were free from the soul-destroying influence of idolatry. Idolatry? Yes; the bowing down to the modern Baal, the wors.h.i.+p of wealth--the G.o.d of gold--the l.u.s.t after the ways and pleasures of the world.
The order of Christ's kingdom is the order of creation: firstly spiritual, secondly temporal. When this order is subverted, ”chaos is come again.” Sorrow is the inevitable consequence of apostasy from the spiritual to the temporal. ”To be carnally-minded is death; but to be spiritually-minded is life and peace.” Does not the fall of man ill.u.s.trate this principle? Can he descend from heaven to earth without causing and enduring pain?
The spiritual must sway the temporal, the earthly be ruled by the heavenly. How else shall it be sanctified? It is the spirit in man that moves the body, not the body the spirit. In the Church, Christ's body, the spiritual must reign supreme. The temporal on the heart's throne is ever the usurper; the spiritual crowned and sceptred, ruler by right divine.
Jacob is spiritual; j.a.pheth is temporal. The mission of Israel and the mission of the Gentiles are as the poles antipodal; G.o.d's ways and man's ways, as heaven and earth apart.
”We were very much grieved,” says Heber, ”on our arrival in Kirtland, to see the spirit of speculation that was prevailing in the Church.
Trade and traffic seemed to engross the time and attention of the Saints. When we left Kirtland a city lot was worth about $150; but on our return, to our astonishment, the same lot was said to be worth from $500. to $1000., according to location; and some men, who, when I left, could hardly get food to eat, I found on my return to be men of supposed great wealth; in fact everything in the place seemed to be moving in great prosperity, and all seemed determined to become rich; in my feelings they were artificial or imaginary riches. This appearance of prosperity led many of the Saints to believe that the time had arrived for the Lord to enrich them with the treasures of the earth, and believing so, it stimulated them to great exertions, so much so that two of the Twelve, Lyman E. Johnson and John F. Boynton, went to New York and purchased to the amount of $20,000 worth of goods, and entered into the mercantile business, borrowing considerable money from Polly Voce and other Saints in Boston and the regions round about, and which they have never repaid.”
The Prophet Joseph says of those times: ”The spirit of speculation in lands and property of all kinds, which was so prevalent throughout the whole nation, was taking deep root in the Church. As the fruits of this spirit, evil surmising, fault-finding, disunion, dissension and apostasy followed in quick succession, and it seemed as though all the powers of earth and h.e.l.l were combining their influence in an especial manner to overthrow the Church at once and make a final end. The enemy abroad and apostates in our midst united in their schemes, flour and provisions were turned towards other markets, and many became disaffected towards me, as though I were the sole cause of those very evils I was strenuously striving against, and which were actually brought upon us by the brethren not giving heed to my counsel.”
During this period, the Kirtland Safety Society was organized, with a view to controlling the prevailing sentiment and directing it in legitimate channels. The ablest and staunchest men in Israel, including the Prophet and most of the Apostles, were made officers and members of the a.s.sociation.
Then came the financial crash of 1837, by which so many of the banking and business houses of the country were prostrated. Nearly all the banks, one after another, suspended specie payment, ”and gold and silver rose in value in direct ratio with the depreciation of paper currency.” The Kirtland Bank shared a similar fate to many others, and went down in the whirlpool of financial ruin. One of the causes alleged for its failure was the misfeasance of some of those who were entrusted with the funds of the Bank. Heber says that Warren Parrish, one of the clerks, ”afterwards acknowledged that he took $20,000, and there was strong evidence that he took more. Those of integrity in the Church replaced the stolen money at the expense of all they had.” A counterfeit, falsely reputed to have been issued by the Bank, was also used by its enemies as a means to effect its overthrow.
As usual the onus of responsibility was placed upon the shoulders of the Prophet, although he had withdrawn from the inst.i.tution some time before. He was falsely accused of dishonesty and fraud, and condemned beyond measure, by men in and out of the Church, as though he were the sole and intentional cause of the catastrophe.
”This order of things,” continues Heber, ”increased during the winter to such an extent that a man's life was in danger the moment he spoke in defence of the Prophet of G.o.d. During this time I had many days of sorrow and mourning, for my heart sickened to see the awful extent that things were getting to. The only source of consolation I had, was in bending my knees continually before my Father in Heaven, and asking Him to sustain me and preserve me from falling into snares, and from betraying my brethren as others had done; for those who apostatized sought every means and opportunity to draw others after them. They also entered into combinations to obtain wealth by fraud and every means that was evil.
”At this time, I had many dreams from the Lord; one of them I will relate. I dreamed that I entered the house of John F. Boynton, in which there was a panther; he was jet black and very beautiful to look upon, but he inspired me with fear; when I rose to leave the house he stood at the door with the intention to seize on me, and seeing my fear, he displayed his beauty to me, telling me how sleek his coat was, and what beautiful ears he had, and also his claws, which appeared to be of silver, and then he showed me his teeth, which also appeared to be silver. John F. Boynton told me that if I made myself familiar with him he would not hurt me, but if I did not he would. I did not feel disposed to do so, and while the panther was displaying to me his beauty, I slipped through the door and escaped, although he tried to keep me back by laying hold of my coat; but I rent myself from him. The interpretation of this dream was literally fulfilled.
The panther represented an apostate whom I had been very familiar with. I felt to thank the Lord for this dream, and other intimations that I had, which, by His a.s.sistance, kept me from falling into snares.”
The hour was approaching when Heber C. Kimball was destined to make his great mark as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, to perform a work that would perpetuate his memory, and make his name ”a household word” upon the lips of tens of thousands in both hemispheres.
CHAPTER XIV.
ZION'S s.h.i.+P AMONG THE BREAKERS--”SOMETHING NEW MUST BE DONE TO SAVE THE CHURCH”--HEBER C. KIMBALL APPOINTED TO OPEN THE BRITISH MISSION--SPIRITUAL THINGS TO THE FRONT--RIGHTING THE s.h.i.+P--HEBER'S PROPHECY TO WILLARD RICHARDS--”YEA, IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, THOU SHALT GO WITH ME”--THE DEPARTURE FOR ENGLAND.
At this crisis in the affairs of the Church, the Lord revealed to Joseph that ”something new” must be done for its salvation. The good s.h.i.+p Zion, storm-tossed and tempest-driven, her sails rent, her timbers sprung, a portion of her officers and crew in open mutiny, was drifting with fearful rapidity toward the rocks and breakers of destruction.
Joseph was denounced as a ”fallen prophet” by men who had been his immediate friends and confidential advisers, and the divinity of his mission was being doubted by many who had received through him a testimony of the truth, the gift of the Holy Ghost, a knowledge of G.o.d and Christ, whom to know is life eternal.
”No quorum in the Church,” says he, ”was entirely exempt from the influence of those false spirits who were striving against me for the mastery. Even some of the Twelve were so far lost to their high and responsible calling, as to begin to take sides, secretly, with the enemy.”
What ”new thing,” under these circ.u.mstances, was destined to ”save the Church?” In what way was Joseph's mission, as a prophet of the living G.o.d, to be revindicated in the eyes of the Saints and of the world?
”On Sunday, the 4th day of June, 1837,” says Heber C. Kimball, ”the Prophet Joseph came to me, while I was seated in front of the stand, above the sacrament table, on the Melchisedek side of the Temple, in Kirtland, and whispering to me, said, 'Brother Heber, the Spirit of the Lord has whispered to me: 'Let my servant Heber go to England and proclaim my Gospel, and open the door of salvation to that nation.'”
The thought was overpowering. He had been surprised at his call to the apostles.h.i.+p: now he was overwhelmed. Like Jeremiah he staggered under the weight of his own weakness, exclaiming in self-humiliation: ”O, Lord, I am a man of stammering tongue, and altogether unfit for such a work; how can I go to preach in that land, which is so famed throughout Christendom for learning, knowledge and piety; the nursery of religion; and to a people whose intelligence is proverbial!”
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