It was at the private interview referred to above, that the Prophet Joseph unbosomed his heart, and described the trying mental ordeal he experienced in overcoming the repugnance of his feelings, the natural result of the force of education and social custom, relative to the introduction of plural marriage. He knew the voice of God--he knew the commandment of the Almighty to him was to go forward--to set the example, and establish Celestial plural marriage. He knew that he had not only his own prejudices and prepossessions to combat and to overcome, but those of the whole Christian world stared him in the face; but God, who is above all, had given the commandment, and He must be obeyed. Yet the Prophet hesitated and deferred from time to time, until an angel of God stood by him with a drawn sword, and told him that, unless he moved forward and established plural marriage, his Priesthood would be taken from him and he should be destroyed! This testimony he not only bore to my brother, but also to others--a testimony that cannot be gainsayed. From my brother's journal: "At the interview on the bank of the Mississippi, in which the Prophet Joseph explained the doctrine of Celestial Marriage, I felt very humble, and in my simplicity besought him earnestly to correct me and set me right if, at any time, he should see me indulging any principle or practice that might tend to lead astray, into forbidden paths; to which he replied, 'Brother Lorenzo, the principles of honesty and integrity are founded within you, and you will never be guilty of any serious error or wrong, to lead you from the path of duty. The Lord will open your way to receive and obey the law of Celestial Marriage.' During the conversation, I remarked to the Prophet I thought he appeared to have been endowed with great additional power during my mission in England. He said it was true; the Lord had bestowed on him additional divine power." On the 22d of May, Lorenzo and I started on a visit to our parents in Walnut Grove, seventy-five miles northeast from Nauvoo, and we returned on the 1st of June. On the 12th, he left for Ohio; and when he returned on the last of August, he found me at our sister's, Mrs. Leonora A. Snow Morley, where our brother's occasional visits were highly appreciated. He spent a few days with us at the close of the year 1843. On the evening of December 31, a social circle of a few choice friends convened at the house of our sister, and we had a lovely time. My brother being one of the orators of the evening, and his sister secretary _pro tem_., I copy from my own journal the following extracts from his parting speech, on the closing year: