The
morning was rainy and the ground was soft.
The mud in the city was quite deep.
A heavy mist rested on the low ground.
The sun light was dim and was nearly shut out by the dark, heavy clouds
causing the day to seem “gloomy and dismal.”
The roads were so muddy that Thomas Bullock could not walk to the
Historian's Office because his shoes would be pulled off his feet by the
mud. He stayed home and parched corn
for his planned journey to the Rocky Mountains. Warren Foote had killed hogs on the previous day and had left
them hanging up overnight. In the
morning he found that they had fallen down in the mud, causing him to have to wash
them all over again.
In the morning, the
plasterers started to plaster the arched ceiling in the lower hall of the
temple. The floor had been laid and the
framework of the pulpits and seats for the choir and band had been put in. The room would soon be ready for meetings.
An issue of the Times
and Seasons was printed, that highlighted Elder Noah Rogers’ mission to
Tahiti.
At 3:10 p.m.,
President Young performed a marriage in his room, in the temple. Truman Leonard Jr. and Ardency White were sealed
for time and eternity. George A. Smith
and Parley P. Pratt were witnesses.
At 10:20 p.m., about
fifty people assembled together in the Celestial Room. They kneeled together on the carpeted floor
and thanked the Lord for the blessings of being able to meet together. They prayed that they might be able to
continue to be in Nauvoo, in peace.
Afterwards, chairs were placed on the west side of the room for Brigham
Young and witnesses. Another marriage
was performed. William G. Young and
Abelia C. Clark were married for time and eternity. William G. Young was Brigham Young's nephew.
Two or three songs
were sung and then President Young invited the group to a supper that was
prepared in the Garden Room. Newel K.
Whitney and his wife led the way and only about half of the company followed
because the table was not large enough for the whole group.
After the supper had
ended, the group heard the sound of Brother Hans C. Hanson's violin and Brother
Elisha Averett’s flute coming from the east room (Celestial Room). The floor was cleared of chairs and tables
and filled up with two sets of dancers, one on each side of the stove. After a few dances, President Young gave a
message to the group. He explained that
the temple was a holy place and that when they danced, they danced unto the
Lord. They should no longer dance with
the wicked, outside of the temple.
Heber C. Kimball then spoke on the need for parents to be responsible
for the conduct of their children.
Their children should not meet with the wicked or have anything to do
with their amusements. Erastus Snow
mentioned that he never before attempted to dance in his life until he came on
the temple floor. He was grateful to
God for the privilege. Hans C. Hanson
spoke and committed to no longer play his fiddle for the wicked. There were tears in the eyes of many, and
the Spirit of the Lord was very strong.
The meeting concluded at 2 a.m.
The entire group was
allowed to stay in the temple overnight.
The sisters retired to the side rooms and the brethren stretched
themselves on the floor, or on the sofas.
The bride, bridegroom, and a few friends passed the few remaining night
hours in conversation in the office (Heber C. Kimball’s room).
Eighty-nine people
received their ordinances on this day.
Smith, ed., Heber C.
Kimball Journal in An Intimate Chronicle; “Thomas Bullock Journal”; History
of the Church, 7:.561; “Warren Foote Autobiography,” typescript, 73
The
weather was clear and cold. The mud dried up in the morning. A large number of people assembled in the
vestry of the temple waiting for their ordinances.
In the morning Elder
Heber C. Kimball related a dream to Brigham Young. Before he had retired to bed the previous evening, he prayed to
the Lord to enlighten his mind with regard to the work in the temple.
While sleeping he
beheld a large field of corn that was fully ripe, he and a number of others
were commanded to take baskets and pick off the corn with all possible speed,
for there would soon be a storm that would hinder the gathering of the
harvest. The hands engaged in gathering
the harvest, were heedless and unconcerned and did not haste, as they were
commanded; but he and the man he assisted had a much larger basket than the
rest, and picked with all their might of the largest ears of the field, they
once in a while would pick an ear that had a long tail on each end and but a
few grains scattering over the center of the cob, which were very light.
Brigham Young wrote
the interpretation for the dream.
The field represented
the church, the good corn represented good saints, the light corn represented
the light and indifferent saints, the laborers are those appointed to officiate
in the Temple, the storm is trouble that is near upon us, and requires an
immediate united exertion of all engaged in giving the endowments to the
saints, or else we will not get through before we will be obliged to flee for
our lives.
At 6 p.m., the High
Council, High Priests, and Seventies met in their rooms for prayer. In the evening, a group of about forty
people assembled in the Celestial Room.
Heber C. Kimball invited the band to play a number of beautiful pieces
of music including “Fishers Hornpipe.”
Joseph Young then began dancing the “hornpipe” by himself. He was soon joined by John L. Butler and two
other brethren. They danced until they were
tired and sat down.
Brigham Young then
organized a French Four. After a short
dance, Elder Orson Hyde addressed the group, asking them to join in giving
thanks. William Clayton then sang a new
song, “Come go with me,” accompanied on the violin by William Pitt and on bass
viola by James Smithies. After a
prayer, Brigham Young invited anyone to speak, pray, or shout in tongues. No one did so Brigham Young then gave a short
talk on the worship of God in dance, and in other ways, and the keeping of temple
covenants. He again mentioned that they
could not have another public meeting in the attic for fear that the roof would
be ruined. He spoke of the persecutions
that were still raging and encouraged the people to be united. “One thing I will do. I will do my utmost to break down every
thing that divides. I will not have
divisions and contentions. . .
. If Joseph Smith had lived, we
should not have been here at this time.
We should have been in some other country.” He than gave a prophecy,
We can't stay in this
[temple] but a little while. We have
got to build another house. It will be
a larger house than this, and a more glorious one. And we shall build a great many houses. We shall come back here and we shall go to Kirtland, and build houses
all over the continent of North America.
A few of the brethren
had been “doubtful as to the propriety of praising the Lord in this way” (with
dance and music). After they heard
President Young speak, their “prejudices were dissipated or removed.”
Sixty‑four
persons received ordinances this day.
Brigham Young stayed up very late into the night.
History of
the Church, 7:561; Smith, ed., Heber C. Kimball Journal in An
Intimate Chronicle; “Thomas Bullock Journal”
The
weather was clear and comfortably warm in the morning. Brigham Young did not arise early because he
had been up so late at night.
The city police were
busy patrolling much of the day. At the
Historian's Office, Willard Richards was busy dictating items of Church history
to Thomas Bullock.
At 5 p.m., Brigham
Young came out of his room in the temple into the east room. He was quite ill, suffering from chills,
fever, and pain in his bones. Prayers
were attended to as usual by the various quorums.
One hundred and
fourteen people received their temple ordinances.
History of
the Church, 7:562; “Hosea Stout Diary”, typescript, 116; Smith,
ed., Heber C. Kimball Journal in An Intimate Chronicle; “Thomas Bullock
Journal”
The day
was warm and the evening was frosty.
There were no public meetings held in the temple on this Sunday because
the attic floor was not strong enough for a large number of people and had been
swaying. The lower levels of the temple
were still under construction.
A council meeting was
held in Brigham Young's room during the morning. Several sisters spent the
day working on cushions for the new altar.
In the afternoon,
another council meeting was held in Brigham Young's room. It was decided that
David Candland should be sent to England on a mission. Brother Candland was serving as a clerk for
Brigham Young and he had the unique experience of hearing the brethren discuss
his mission call. He recorded in his
journal:
About 2 o'clock he
called some of the brethren of the Twelve who were there into his room and
asked them whether it would be prudent to send me to England, in which they all
responded yes. President Young then desired me enter upon the record and
prepare to go as speedily as possible, which I did.
A letter was received
from Samuel Brannan in New York, who was preparing to sail with a group of
Saints to California. The Council also
discussed the forged Emma Smith letter that had appeared in The New York Sun. They read James Bennet's letter which had
also been published in the Sun on December 19. The general feeling of the Council was that Bennet was the person
who forged the letter. (See December
9 and 19, 1845.) Sheriff Backenstos
received a letter from Governor Ford.
(See December 29, 1845.)
History of
the Church, 7:562; Smith, ed., Heber C. Kimball Journal in An
Intimate Chronicle; “Thomas Bullock Journal”; “David Candland Journal,”
typescript, 2
It was a
pleasant morning and many people came early to the temple to receive their
ordinances. Ordinance work began at
8:45 a.m.
Brigham Young was
feeling better. He spent the morning
hearing letters, reading newspaper articles, and giving directions for the
business of the day. A letter
postmarked in Cincinnati from William Smith was read which was felt to be
“scurrilous and slanderous.”
When the labors of
the day were over at 9 p.m., Brothers Hans C. Hanson and Elisha Averett played
their violin and flute in the Celestial Room.
They were soon joined in dance by many others. Efforts were made to persuade sixty‑five-year‑old
George W. Harris1 to join in, but “his
gravity and superior wisdom forbade him to do so, and he thought that as he had
not yet danced in his life, he would not begin at the present time.” The dance concluded at midnight. Brigham Young left the temple, taking his
carriage home. It was a frosty night.
There were 104 people
who received their temple ordinances this day.
The County
Commissioners' Court met. Several bills
supporting Sheriff Jacob Backenstos' posse were discussed. The clerk, Mr. Thatcher, stated than an
injunction had been served on him, which had been issued by the clerk of the
circuit court, forbidding any bills to be presented in support of the
sheriff. Therefore, he stated that he
would not place the bill in the record.
The commissioners refused to recognize the legality of the injunction on
the grounds that there were no state laws to authorize such an interference
with the county commissioner's court.
History of
the Church, Vol.7:564; Smith, ed., Heber C. Kimball Journal in An
Intimate Chronicle; “Thomas Bullock Journal”
Brigham
Young came to the temple at 11:20 a.m.
His health was still not very good.
During the night he dreamed the same dream three times.
At 11:45 a.m., Elder
Almon W. Babbitt brought in the letter that was written to Sheriff Backenstos
from Governor Thomas Ford on December 29, regarding the probability of the U.S.
Government sending troops to Nauvoo to arrest the Twelve.
At 6 p.m., Brigham
Young, Heber C. Kimball, and their wives left the temple to attend a party at
Elder John Taylor's home. He held a
supper which “was prepared in the most sumptuous style.” The dinner concluded around 8 p.m.
In the evening, at
the temple, another dance was held.
Hans C. Hanson, Jacob F. Hutchinson,2
and Levi W. Hancock3 played the violin. James Smithies4
played the bass viola, and Elisha Averett played the flute. After dancing two figures, Joseph Young
addressed the group for quite awhile.
Brigham Young returned to the
temple at 10 p.m. and organized a French four.
Erastus Snow and Levi W. Hancock sang hymns. The dancing continued until midnight. Frost again fell overnight.
Ninety people
received their ordinances in the temple this day.
History of
the Church, 7:565; Smith, ed., Heber C. Kimball Journal in An
Intimate Chronicle; “Thomas Bullock Journal”; Jenson, LDS Biographical
Encyclopedia, 1:188‑89
The
weather was dull and dry. In the
morning there was a huge crowd in the reception room of the temple, waiting for
entrance. Baskets and pails full of
provisions were brought for those working in the temple. The supply was very generous, more than what
could be consumed. The excess was sent
away to be given to destitute families.
Also in the morning
about 8 a.m., Daniel H. Wells5 went to
Hosea Stout and told him that one of his horses was missing. He asked if Brother Stout could send a guard
to hunt for it. He offered five dollars
if it was found and ten dollars if it turned out that it had been stolen. At 9 a.m., Daniel Wells told Brother Stout
that the horse had been found and he gave him three dollars for his trouble
even though he had found the horse himself.
The Church leaders
received a letter from the Catholic priest, Father Tucker, informing the Twelve
that the bishop could not raise enough money to purchase the Nauvoo
property. They were still interested in
purchasing or renting one of the public buildings, but couldn't insure it
against fire or mobs. The Twelve
decided not to answer the letter and appeared to be tired of the negotiating
with the Catholics.
In the afternoon, the
new temple altar was used for the first time.6
At 6 p.m., Ann Maria
Foster, wife of Lucian R. Foster, left the temple with her little boy, Lucian
R. Foster Jr. They had been in the
temple since the day before at noon.
Little Lucian was very sick when he came, but went away quite well. Earlier on Sunday, she brought him to the
temple requesting a blessing from the brethren. Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Parley P. Pratt laid their
hands upon him and asked the Lord to restore his health.
Several prayer
meetings were held in the temple by the various quorums, praying for the Church
leaders and for protection that the temple ordinances may continue.
At 9 p.m., many of
the church leaders and temple workers were taken to their homes in William
Kimball's (Heber's son's) carriage.
Brigham Young left the temple at 10 p.m.
One hundred twenty‑one
persons received their temple ordinances this day.
Reuben
Miller was in Ottawa, Illinois, to organize a company of one hundred families
for the journey to the west. On this
day, in St. Charles, he encountered James J. Strang, who claimed to be the true
successor of Joseph Smith. Strang and
Miller agreed to hold a debate in front of sixty Saints. Strang spoke first for four hours. Miller’s counter-arguments were poor and he
admitted that he could not refute Strang’s words. As a result, Strang had great success leading away many of these
Saints from the Church. Reuben Miller
was also influenced and would follow after Strang for a time.
“Lorenzo Brown
Journal,” typescript, 15; History of the Church, 7:566; “Thomas Bullock
Journal”; Van Noord, King of Beaver Island, 39
It was a
cold day. Work continued on the lower
levels of the temple. While Lorenzo
Brown was working on a scaffold in the lower room of the temple, the scaffold
gave way and he fell, along with five others, from a height of about fifteen
feet onto the floor. They fell on tools,
timbers, and planks. Lorenzo was the
only one who escaped injury. Jesse
Haven fell beside him with a very heavy plank lying across him. Lorenzo quickly sprang to help him, thinking
he was dead. Jesse revived shortly
after being lifted, but was badly hurt.
Brother Josiah Perry’s feet were broken and never recovered.7
The night was
frosty. Eighty‑one people
received their temple ordinances on this day.
“Lorenzo
Brown Journal,” typescript, 15; History of the Church, 7:566; “Thomas
Bullock Journal”
It was
another cold day. Brigham Young
attended to sealing ordinances at the altar.
The quorums met as usual for prayer.
Brigham Young
announced that he wanted all “dancing and merriment” to cease in the
temple. He feared the Saints were
getting carried away by vanity. He
stressed that the name of God should be held in reverence.
President Young received
a letter from Samuel J. Hastings of Boston, proposing to ship passengers,
merchandise, and freight to the Pacific coast.
The previous evening,
Brother William Taylor had been traveling on the prairie, north of Carthage,
and he reported seeing seven men going from Appanoose toward Carthage with a
cannon drawn by four horses and bearing a large red flag.
On this evening, at
the nightly meeting of the police, Brother John Scott raised a company of twenty or thirty men to go to Carthage on the
next day to attend a meeting of the citizens of Hancock County. This meeting was being called to appoint
delegates, who would meet at a convention in Springfield, to nominate a
Democratic candidate for the governor's election next August.
At the temple, as the
guard was assembling, a spy was noticed in the group. Hosea Stout suggested to John Scott that they should “bounce a
stone off of his head,” which they promptly did. When the man came to his senses, he did not know what had
happened and left.
After the guard was
assembled, a man came into camp, who said he had lost two horses the night
before and believed that they had been stolen.
He agreed to pay three dollars to the guard if they would search for them. They agreed, but did not find the horses.
One hundred and five
people received their temple ordinances on this day.
An
editorial appeared in the St. Louis Organ that discussed the persecution
of the Mormons in Illinois. It stated
that Governor Thomas Ford was being criticized for not calling out the militia
to arrest the Mormon leaders. It
mentioned that Ford’s reason for not making these arrests was because he knew
the Mormons wouldn't leave Illinois without their leaders. The paper felt that Governor Ford was acting
wisely, that prosecutions could do no good.
The Saints were willing to emigrate in peace and it said,
Let them go, and end
this disgraceful turmoil and strife. It
is quite likely that many of them are bad people, and it is still more likely
that there are quite enough bad people in that quarter, not of their number
. .
. when they are gone, we shall
see whether there are any more horses stolen, or counterfeit money passed, in
that region.
The editorial felt
that the reports against the Mormons had been exaggerated and that their most
violent opponents have always been a cast of questionable characters. It compared those now persecuting the Saints
in Illinois with the “great Mormon Eaters” of Upper Missouri, who were the
“greatest scamps in the country.” It
was felt that after the Mormons left, that there would still be bad men left in
Illinois including those who invited the Mormons to Illinois for the purpose of
using them as stepping-stones to power.
These men failed and now persecuted them. “There will be left those, who, under the disguise of carrying
out the laws of Illinois, induced the Smiths to become prisoners, and then in
cold blood, (murdered them!) ‑‑ an act of atrocity unparalleled in
the history of the age.”
The editorial
concluded with, “The time will come, when the fanaticism and immorality of the
Mormons will be lost in the recollection of the great barbarism of their persecutors.”
History of
the Church, 7:566; “Hosea Stout Diary”, typescript, 120; Stanley
B. Kimball, BYU Studies, 13:4:504; Times and Seasons, 6:1115
The
weather was fine. Louisa Barnes Pratt,
wife of missionary Addison Pratt, received her temple ordinances. She recorded:
I was called to the temple
to receive my blessings where I encountered grievous disappointment, not in the
character of the blessings, but in not being permitted to remain through the
day as I had anticipated. The house being crowded, the overseer requested us to
withdraw and make room for others. I remonstrated, but all in vain. I retired
with a heavy heart. Afterwards I had frequent opportunities of attending the
different exercises in the house, and felt that all was made right.
During the day, Elder
Willard Richards asked Thomas Bullock and two other brothers if they would pray
every day that he would be able to live and complete the History of the
Church. They all said that they
would. Elder Richards prophesied, “If
you do this you shall become grey headed old men, and you shall become heads of
great and mighty kingdoms.” He told them to go record this in their journals.8
Brigham Young
received a letter from Wilford Woodruff in Liverpool, England, informing President Young that he had made arrangements
to send his family home to Nauvoo, by way of New Orleans. Elder Woodruff would return via Boston, then
stop in Maine and Connecticut to bring his relatives to Nauvoo in time to go
west with the Saints.
Elisha Hoops reported
that the mob was making preparations in Warsaw for another campaign against the
Saints.
A meeting of the 21st
Quorum of Seventies was held. At this
meeting, Zenos H. Gurley9 arose
and said the presidents of the 21st quorum had received their endowment. He observed that it was a remarkable
outpouring of the Holy Spirit. He
preached that Joseph and Hyrum had “obtained their exaltation by patient
submission to right.”
In the evening a
party was held at Brother Horn’s house.
Elder John Taylor spoke to the gathering on the object of man’s creation
and his destiny if faithful. The party
concluded around midnight.
One hundred eighteen
people received their ordinances this day.
A group of
brethren went to Carthage as planned the day before. Everything went well, “the Anties made no resistance and the
Mormons carried the day.”
History of
the Church, 7:566; “Hosea Stout Diary”, typescript, 2:120-21;
Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., Doctrines of Salvation, 1:250; “Thomas
Bullock Journal”; “David Candland Journal,” typescript, 3; “Louisa Pratt
autobiography” in Heart Throbs 8:236
The
morning was clear, but cold. A public
meeting was held in the large room on the second story of the temple. Many people were turned away because there
just wasn't enough room to hold the entire crowd. The crowds were even pressed in around and behind doorways. Both Thomas Bullock and Hosea Stout left
because there was no room. Brother John
Young and “Father” Freeman Nickerson10
were among those who spoke to the people.
The Twelve did not speak to the people because “they are hunted like
wild beasts by a black hearted set of mobbers.”
The “General Council”
met and arranged to make an early start for the west. Various Seventies Quorums met in the afternoon.
Emer Harris and Polly
Chamberlain were married.11
A son, Alma Hayes,
was born to Thomas and Polly Hayes.12
History of
the Church, 7:567; “Hosea Stout Diary”, typescript, 2:121;
“Norton Jacob Autobiography,” 24; “Thomas Bullock Journal”; Jenson, LDS
Biographical Encyclopedia, 4:690; “David Candland Journal,” typescript, 3
Very early
in the morning, around 2 a.m., Joseph Taylor13
woke up Hosea Stout to let him know that state troops, from Carthage, were
coming into town. Brother Stout
immediately went to the temple to check up on the guard. He sent out spies to see what the troops
were doing. These state troops went to
Brother Andrew Colton's home and took him out of bed, under the charge of horse
stealing. They also went to Brother
Eastman's stable, broke it open looking for the stolen horse, but did not find
it. They took Andrew Colton off to
Carthage.14 Some of the troops stayed behind in Carthage beyond
daybreak. The Nauvoo police were put
into a state of emergency and asked to watch the troops. The troops started to question some of the
children in town, trying to get some information out of them regarding certain
men. More of the police began to follow
them and the troops started to throw out insults. Soon a confrontation ensued.
Hosea Stout told the troops that if they ever tried to patrol their
streets again at night, without notice, it would mean death. The Saints would rather die than be treated
with such tyranny. The troops left the
city in a rage.
During all this
turmoil, temple ordinances continued. A
record one hundred and forty‑three people received their ordinances on
this day. Brigham Young had decided to
devote himself full-time to the working in the temple. He was averaging only four hours of sleep per
day and went home just once per week.
He administered at the altar this day, doing sealings. The practice of “adoption sealing” was being
performed.15 Twenty‑six people were sealed to Elder Heber C. Kimball.