Part 17 (2/2)
The following pa.s.sage of reflections on the poor of England is worthy of the great philanthropic heart of Heber C. Kimball:
”This was very extraordinary weather for that country, as I was informed that some winters they had scarcely any frost or snow, and the oldest inhabitants told me that they never experienced such a winter before. In consequence of the inclemency of the weather, several manufacturing establishments were shut up, and several thousands of men, women and children were thrown out of employment, whose sufferings during that time were severe; and I was credibly informed, and verily believe, that many perished from starvation. Such sufferings I never witnessed before. The scenes which I daily beheld were enough to chill the blood in my veins. The streets were crowded with men, women and children who begged from the pa.s.sengers as they walked along. Numbers of those poor, wretched beings were without shoes or stockings, and scarcely any covering to screen them from the inclemency of the weather; and daily I could discover delicate females walking the streets gathering up the animal refuse, and carrying it to places where they could sell it for a penny or half-penny. And thus they lived through the winter. At the same time there were hundreds and thousands living in wealth and splendor. I felt to exclaim, O Lord, how long shall these things exist! How long shall the rich oppress the poor, and have no more care or interest for them than the brutes of the field, nor half so much! When will distress and poverty cease, and peace and plenty abound! When the Lord Jesus shall descend in the clouds of heaven, then the rod of the oppressor shall be broken. Hasten the time, O Lord, was frequently the language of my heart when I contemplated the scenes of wretchedness and woe which I daily witnessed.
”Great numbers were initiated into the Kingdom of Heaven; those who were sick were healed; those who were diseased flocked to us daily; and truly their faith was great, such as I hardly ever witnessed before, consequently many were healed of their infirmities. We were continually employed day and night, some nights hardly closing our eye-lids. The task was almost more than we could endure; but realizing the circ.u.mstances of this people, their love of the truth, their humility and unfeigned charity, caused us to use all diligence and make good use of every moment, for truly our bowels yearned over them.”
Touching the prospects of the missionary work in England, he adds:
”The work kept spreading; the prospect of usefulness grew brighter and brighter, and the field opened larger and larger; while the cries of 'Come, and administer the words of life unto us,' were more and more frequently sounding in our ears. I do not remember during the last six months I was in England of retiring to my bed earlier than midnight, which was also the case with Brothers Hyde and Fielding.
”Sunday, April 8th, the day of the conference, came. The Saints began to a.s.semble at an early hour. By nine o'clock there were from six to seven hundred present from various parts of the country. After the meeting was opened by singing and prayer, we had a representation of the following branches, viz.: Preston, Penwortham, Walkerfold, Thornley, Ribchester, Chatburn, c.l.i.thero, Barshe Lees, Waddington, Leyland Moss, Leyland Lane, Eccleston, Hunter's Hill, Euxton, Whittle, Dauber's Lane, Bamber Bridge, Longton, Southport, Downham, Burnley, Bedford, Alston, Brampton, Bolton, Chorley. The total number of Saints represented were about two thousand, which, with the exception of the branches in Preston, Bedford and c.u.mberland, were princ.i.p.ally raised up by my own labors, as I spent my time in the branches, except on Sundays, when I preached in Preston. The branch in Preston numbered about four hundred, that in Bedford forty, and the branch in c.u.mberland sixty.”
All this was the work of only eight months. Two thousand had been baptized and enough branches organized to form the base work of three or four conferences, incorporating in the missionary work about that number of the counties of England. Thus the work had already widely spread, yet only three or four Elders had been out in the ministry.
Heber C. Kimball himself had converted in eight months about one thousand five hundred souls. He continues:
”We gave instructions to the official members, reminding them of their several duties and callings, and the responsibilities which rested upon them; pressing upon them the necessity of being humble and faithful in the discharge of their duties, so that by patience, meekness and love unfeigned, they might commend themselves to G.o.d, and the Church of Jesus Christ, over whom the Holy Ghost had made them guardians.
”Feeling it necessary for the good of the kingdom to leave someone in authority over the whole church, I nominated Joseph Fielding to preside, with Willard Richards as his first counselor, and William Clayton his second counselor. The nominations met with the approbation of the whole a.s.sembly, who agreed to hearken to their instructions and uphold them in their offices. These brethren were then ordained to the High Priesthood, and set apart to preside over the Church in England.
Eight Elders, several Priests, Teachers and Deacons, were set apart and ordained to the several offices to which they were called. One of the brethren ordained was going to Manchester, and another to the city of London.”
”We then confirmed forty individuals, after which about one hundred children were blessed. The same day twenty persons were baptized for the remission of sins. We then proceeded to administer the sacrament to the numerous a.s.sembly, and gave some general instructions to the whole church respecting their duty to G.o.d and to each other, which were listened to with great attention.
”At this conference we were favored with the company of Elder Willard Richards, also Elder Russell, who had returned from c.u.mberland. He met with considerable opposition from his own kindred, as well as from ministers of the different denominations, who sought every opportunity to destroy his influence. Notwithstanding the great opposition he was instrumental in bringing upwards of sixty souls into the kingdom of G.o.d, and left them rejoicing in the truth, under the watchcare of Elder Jacob Peart. Thus the great work was commenced in three places, Preston, Bedford and Alston, which forcibly reminds me of the parable of the leaven which the woman hid in the three measures of meal.”
The conference closes with another of those almost dramatic pictures with which this eventful history abounds.
”At 5 p. m.,” says the Apostle, ”we brought the conference to a close, having continued without interruption from 9 a. m., and appointed 7 o'clock the same evening to deliver our farewell addresses. At the appointed time we repaired to the 'c.o.c.k Pit' which was crowded to excess. Brother Hyde and myself spoke to them concerning our labors in that land, the success of the ministry, and the kindness we had experienced at their hands, and told them we expected before long to see them again, after we had visited the Church and our families in America. When we spoke of our departure their souls were melted; they gave vent to their feelings and wept like little children, and broke out in lamentations like the following: 'How can we part with our beloved brethren!' 'We may never see them again!' 'O, why must you leave us!' I could not restrain my feelings, and they found vent in a flood of tears. It would have been almost an impossibility for us to have left this affectionate people, if we had not had the most implicit confidence in the brethren who had been appointed to preside over them in our absence; but knowing they had the confidence of the Church, we felt that affairs would be conducted in righteousness.
”Immediately after dismissing the congregation we met the official brethren, about eighty, and instructed them in their duties, and dismissed at 1 o'clock the next morning.”
CHAPTER XXVII.
DEPARTURE FOR LIVERPOOL--HEBER'S LETTER TO THE SAINTS IN CHATBURN AND DOWNHAM--HIS PREDICTION CONCERNING THOMAS WEBSTER--ITS STRICT FULFILLMENT.
At nine o'clock on the morning of April 9th, Elders Kimball, Hyde and Russell left Preston for Liverpool. Through the kindness of the Saints, many of whom a.s.sembled to bid them farewell, they were provided with means to take them back to Kirtland. With tearful eyes they were gazed at by the mult.i.tude until the coach was lost to view.
”Notwithstanding the variegated scenery of the country,” says Heber, ”which in England is very beautiful, my mind reverted back to the time when I first arrived in that country, and the peculiar feelings that possessed me when I traveled from Liverpool to Preston eight months before. Then I was a stranger in a strange land, and had only to rely upon the kindness and mercy of that G.o.d who had sent me there. While I mused on these things, my soul was humbled within me, for I had now hundreds of brethren to whom I was united in bonds the most endearing and sacred, and who loved me as their own souls, and whose prayers would be continually offered up for my welfare and prosperity.
”After a ride of about four hours we arrived at Liverpool, and ascertaining that the s.h.i.+p in which we intended to sail would not leave port as early as expected, in consequence of a great storm, in which several vessels had been wrecked and many lives lost, we took lodgings for a few days until the vessel should depart.
”We were accompanied by Elders Fielding and Richards, who felt desirous to obtain all the information they could respecting the government of the Church, as our opportunities of instruction had been limited while in Preston, it being almost impossible to have much private intercourse, as there were so many who wished to converse with us on the subject of the Gospel, etc. But in this they were disappointed, for as soon as it was known in Preston and other places that our departure was delayed, Elder Clayton and numbers of the brethren came to visit us in Liverpool.
”I wrote the following farewell to the Church of Latter-day Saints in Chatburn and Downham:
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