administration of the holy endowments—the work of the closing months—union of satanic forces against the prophet—a momentary glance at him before the final hour.
before recounting the final act which closed this great life, we may pause to glance at some of the work of the prophet and some of the difficulties which beset his path and wrought the martyrdom.
during the winter of 1843-4 superhuman power rested upon the prophet in his teachings and administrations. he was impelled to constant labor in his ministry as if he had the briefest possible time in which to accomplish his work. perhaps he was not fully aware how little there was of mortal life left to him, yet many of his expressions at this time were recalled by the apostles and others afterwards as foreshadowing the nearness of his departure. he bestowed upon the faithful apostles and other chosen ones the endowments, and gave them the keys of the priesthood in their fullness as he had received them. he also taught and administered to them the sealing ordinances, explaining in great plainness and power the manner in which husbands and wives, parents and children are to be united by eternal ties, and the whole human family, back to father adam, be linked together in indissoluble bonds. in imparting these glorious principles and bestowing these keys and powers upon his fellow apostles, the prophet was filled with god-like power. more important doctrines and ordinances were never imparted unto man. the spirit which rested upon joseph in teaching and upon the people in listening to them (for he dwelt much upon these principles in his public discourses) will never be forgotten by those who heard him. it was to the deep and abiding effect of these teachings upon the minds of the saints that the extraordinary exertions which were made after his death in completing the temple may chiefly be attributed.
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the perusal of the history of the church during the life of joseph the prophet suggests many reflections and to many minds prompts many inquiries. one cannot fail to be struck with the unceasing opposition with which he had to contend. from the day that he received the first communication from heaven up to the day of his martyrdom his pathway was beset with difficulties, his liberty and life were constantly menaced. had he been an ordinary man he would have been crushed in spirit and sunk in despair under the relentless attacks which were made upon him. to find a parallel to his case we must go back to the days of our savior and his apostles and the prophets who preceded them. joseph's life was sought for with satanic hate. the thirst for his blood was unappeasable. had there not been a special providence exercised in his behalf to preserve him until his mission should be fulfilled, he would have been slain by murderous hands long before the dreadful day at carthage.
to the inexperienced reader it seems unaccountable that any generation of men could have been so blind to everything god-like, so dead to every humane sentiment, so utterly cruel and barbarous, as not to recognize in the teachings, works and life of god's beloved son the divinity with which he was clothed and to nail him upon a cross between two thieves. also that his chosen apostles, filled with angelic power, preaching so pure a doctrine and laboring with such self-denial and unselfish zeal for the salvation of mankind, should have been slain by the very people whose benefactors they sought to be.
but in our own age the same scenes are re-enacted. joseph smith, a prophet of god, called by the almighty to receive the everlasting priesthood to lay the foundation of the church of christ, and to preach the ancient pure gospel, performs the mission to which he was divinely appointed, and is pursued with vindictive hate through his life, and is finally barbarously slain. the explanation of all this is given by the lord himself in his words to his disciples: "if ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but i have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."
according to the predictions, this is the dispensation of the fullness of times—the crowning dispensation of all. to leave the world without excuse and to prepare the way for the second coming of the lord, the holy priesthood, the pure gospel and the true church of christ are restored to earth through the ministration of angels. satan, fully conscious that if these prevail his dominion will be overthrown, arrays all his forces against the servants and work of god. he resorts to his old tactics to accomplish his purposes. he was a liar and a murderer from the beginning. lies and murder are the agencies he depends upon. many, being free agents and having power to choose whom they will serve, become the instruments of hate, and the earth is drenched with the blood of innocence. the prophet joseph, while he lived, was the conspicuous object of his vengeance. like paul, he could have recounted a long list of perils which he had to encounter, not the least of which, as in the case of paul, were "perils among false brethren."' of all the evils with which this great prophet had to contend, none were so grievous or so hard to be borne as the defection and treason of "false brethren." the most deadly wounds he ever received were from those who, judas-like, had been his companions. when, through their transgressions, they lost the spirit of god, and turned away from the truth, the spirit of murder took possession of them, they became fit instruments for satan's service, and to this class more than to any others, can the foul murders of the 27th of june, 1844, be charged.
the great bulk of those who composed the mobs which attacked the saints in missouri and illinois were ignorant men. their passions were easily aroused. a few cunning and unscrupulous leaders were able to use them to accomplish their ends. seeing the increase of the saints, they were easily persuaded that, if left to themselves, they would soon outnumber the old settlers, they would outvote them, take possession of the offices, and drive them out of the country. by such representations and artifices as these, appealing to the lowest and basest of motives, they were able to inflame the minds of ignorant and unprincipled men. envious of the prosperity of the saints, coveting their possessions, they thought to profit in driving them from their homes. apostates had personal vengeance and hates to gratify; politicians saw a growing power which they could not control, and whose union made it formidable in county and state affairs; the clergy saw a system of religion which they could not controvert; and the rabble had their cupidity excited at the prospect of plunder, which might fall to them through the abandonment of lands and improvements and stock by the people whom they were driving away.
