Report on the Eastern States Mission

(President of Eastern States Mission.) Relying upon the earnest prayer that was offered, upon the sympathy of those present, and upon the Spirit of the Lord, I will attempt to discharge the obligation resting upon me, and embrace this opportunity of bearing testimony to the truthfulness of the Gospel. ¶

It is rather difficult, in the springtime, when we look out upon the fields and behold the vegetation breaking through the soil, to distinguish between a weed and a vine, or between a willow and an oak. They all look pretty much the same when they first break through the soil. And so, too, in looking out upon the field of human thought and activity, it is hard to distinguish the various systems of religion or philosophy; that is, it is hard when they first make their appearance to tell whether they will develop or evolve into a fad, a superstition, or a religion ; but as the tree grows we are able to distinguish the nature of it. Time and experience are sure to reveal the nature of the various systems which are organized in various communities. So when, in the spring-time of the past century, "Mormonism" made its appearance amid the great forest of isms, the ecclesiastical botanists unanimously pronounced it a weed of a season's growth, which could and should be plucked up by the righteous. But the frosts of hatred, the blighting winds of persecution failed to loosen its roots or to stay the growth of its branches; and now, as it continues to grow with the century, and stretches its arms out, defying gravitation, it presents more the appearance of the sturdy oak than of the frail weed. "Mormonism" is either the greatest of all the trees growing in this forest, or else it is the least ; and while it has something of the nature of the oak, yet it is unlike any of the trees of that forest amid which it grew. It is more like that tree which stood in the Garden of Eden, not the one the fruit of which our mother Eve partook, but the tree which was guarded by the fiery sword of Cherubim, if they had partaken of the fruit of it they would have lived forever. "Mormonism" has outgrown its experimental stage, and, as has been said, it possesses features which have characterized all the great world movements. There is in it that inspiration which for its source looks to God, and upon the part of the people that abiding faith which amounts to positive comprehension. And where there is a combination of these forces, inspiration and revelation upon the part of the leaders, and abiding faith upon the part of the followers, there has been no power in the world that could resist the growth, the development and the progress of such a people. It was a combination of these forces which, in Moses and the Hebrew children, established the commonwealth of Israel, which, in Jesus Christ and His Apostles, established Christianity, and which, in Mohammed and his followers, established Islam. And we see to a marked degree the combination of these forces in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as it has been established. ¶

I was impressed by the remark of one of our most learned young men who had returned from a college course in the East. He was not blessed with a very strong faith, even when he left Zion, and he came back impressed with the greatness and the learning of the world, and with the knowledge that he had acquired, and perhaps to some degree with the smallness of our own communities and the comparatively few people who were engaged in this great work. Yet in attending one of our conferences and looking out upon that vast congregation, which represented at the most only the captains of Israel's hosts, he was able to see back of them the branches, the divisions, the battalions which were following them, and when he witnessed that unanimity of feeling, that similarity of testimony and expression, and that spirit that seemed to pervade them all, he said, "There is no power on earth that can resist or stop such a movement." ¶

It seems to me that we have everything to make us feel encouraged. I am sometimes impressed when I return from the great metropolis of our nation with the fewness of our people, and I sometimes wonder why such a handful of people create any special interest in the world, why they excite the attention of the people of this nation. If all the people in Utah should arrive in New York tomorrow, or in Philadelphia, or in Boston, it would make no difference at all, any more than a little picnic company arriving there. And yet, regardless of our numbers, whether they have been few or great, our power, our organization and the spirit and genius of this work is being felt throughout the world. Not only are the predictions of the ancient prophets being fulfilled in the great panorama that we see moving before us in the tops of the Wasatch mountains, not only are the predictions of some of our modern prophets being fulfilled in our actions day by day, but there are others who have made predictions concerning us. While President Ellsworth was talking about some of trie places he had visited, I thought of a kind of a prediction which was made by Governor Ford, in writing the history of Illinois. He said: "The Christian world has hitherto regarded the growth of Mormonism with a kind of an air of indifference, but unfortunately, they may yet awaken to feel her power." "It was not at all improbable that within the course of a century some great orator may arise, some man gifted like the Apostle Paul, who will make the name of the martyred Prophet ring even as does the mighty name of Christ itself; and it is not improbable that Sharon, Manchester, Nauvoo and Carthage may become to an after generation places of classic interest even as Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Gethsemane and Mount Calvary to the Christians of the present day; and, in such an event, the author of this history feels degraded by the thought that he stands a fair chance of having his name attached to the wheels of time, and dragged down through the generations even as has been that of Pontius Pilate, because of his official connection with the death of the true Messiah." "There may be some who would desire an immortal name, even under such circumstances, but I am not one of that number." Retribution was no doubt following him. He had played the same part that Pontius Pilate played, and he was wise enough to know that history would repeat itself. These spots are becoming places of classic interest to thousands of people. Thousands are visiting the birth place of Joseph Smith, while only two years ago it was almost impossible to identify the exact spot of his birth, and now the people of Vermont, from, the governor down, are visiting that place, and are commencing to feel proud of the fact that their state gave birth to a man who had exercised such an influence upon this generation, that at least 400,000 people give evidence of their gratitude and their admiration of him, by the beautiful monument that has been erected to perpetuate his memory. ¶

Nauvoo, that city that the Prophet loved, that city from which his people were driven, none of his followers have been welcomed there for years ; in fact the people in those sections have been fed on "Mormon" depredations; but a wonderful change is coming over the scene. Every Sunday, meetings are being held there. Perhaps at this very time in the Sabbath school children are being taught in relation to the divinity of the mission of Joseph Smith. And there is a great company in New York City who are undertaking the development of that region of country, Hancock county, Illinois, and especially of Nauvoo, and they are more than anxious that the Church should cooperate with them in that land. The attorney for the company said to me, I think it was just the day before I left New York, "We have discussed this matter, we have thought over it often in our councils, and we know that that section has never developed since your people were driven from it, and we fear that it never will until they return to it." ¶

Independence, that spot around which our saddest memories and our fondest hopes cluster, there is a remarkable change of sentiment and feeling with reference to that section. It was there that the first effort was made to publish to this generation the revelations which our Father had given for our salvation and development; but the feeling of bitterness was so intense that they were unable at that time to accomplish their purpose. But that stream has continued to grow. There has been time to test the value of these revelations, and today there is being issued weekly from that very point one of the strong religious journals of this country, and one of the strongest publications of the Church, with a subscription list close upon 18,000, and many of these are reaching outside of our own immediate circles. There must be now about 700 subscriptions in the Eastern States. This is at least double the number of families in that mission, and there are many more in proportion in some of the other missions. ¶

Carthage jail, which for many years has been occupied by people who made their living by telling people of the bad reputation of the men who were martyred there, and trying to glorify those who put them to death, is today owned by the followers of the Prophet Joseph Smith, those who take delight in telling of the true character of those men who were willing to seal their testimony with their blood, and also the true character of those who assassinated them. ¶

Not only is there a change of mind in this regard, but also this wonderful change of interest in the work that we are doing. ' We have more liberties today to preach the Gospel upon the streets of New York City than ever before; and just since I have been on this trip I have received a letter from the president of the New England conference that they have permission to preach anywhere on the streets of the City of Boston. This is a privilege that we have not had before, at least during my administration in that section. And while this wave of enthusiasm on the part of the Elders, and wave of interest on the part of the people that is manifested, especially in the Northern States and in the Middle States, and in the Colorado or Western States mission, has not yet reached us to the degree that is manifest there, yet there is a marked improvement in our work, that is in the results of our work and in the interest manifested by the Elders. Up to the present time there have been about 2,000 more books sold during the corresponding seven months of last year, and this increase is largely in the sale of the Book of Mormon, this new witness for God that has come forth in this day and age of the world to be joined with the stick of Judah. ¶

I bear my testimony to you, my brethren and sisters, that I do know that the Gospel is true, and that the kingdom of God has been established, and that it is going to roll forth in the world until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our God, whose right it is to reign. And I pray that we may all have strength to be valiant in the fight, and be able to take part in the battle and share in the victories of peace, and I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶